
iimninntJKMi 




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HIBRARY OF CONGRESS.! 

#[ 

f [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] f 



A . _ 

i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 




A 



25 50 



100. 
Fig. 99. ^'- 



]5' 



Design of a Mixed Kkuft and Kitchen Garden 150 X 200 Feet. 



THE 



FRUIT GARDEN; 



A TREATISE 

INTENDED TO EXPLAIN AND ILLUSTRATE THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FRUIT 
TREES, THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ALL OPERATIONS 

CONNECTED WITH THE 

PROPAGATION, TRANSPLANTING, PRUNING AND TRAINING OF 

ORCHARD AND GARDEN TREES, AS STANDARDS, DWARFS, 

PYRAMIDS, ESPALIERS, ETC., 

THE LAYING OUT AND ARRANGING DIFFERENT KINDS OS" 

OECHARDS AND GARDENS,,,. 

THE SELECTION OF SUITABLE VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES AND 

LOCALITIES, GATHERING AND PRESERVING FRUITS, TREATMENT OF 

DISEASES, DESTRUCTION OF INSECTS, DESCRIPTIONS AND 

USES OF IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 

ILLUSTRATED AVITH UPWARDS OF 150 FIGURES, 

REPRESENTING DIFFERENT PARTS OF TREES, ALL PRACTICAL OPERATIONS, 
FORMS OF TREES, DESIGNS FOR PLANTATIONS, IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 



»rB AH 



BY PrBAHRY, 

OF THE MOUNT HOPE NURSERIES, ROCHESTER, NEW YOR 



NEAV YOPtK: 
CIIAELES SCR IB NEE 

1S51. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by 

CHARLES SCRIBNER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New York. 



F. C. GUTIERREZ. Printer, 
No. Si John-Street, corner of Dutch 



^^^^ 



^ 



T- 



INTEODUCTION. 



The subject of this treatise is one in which almost all classes 
of the community are more or less practically engaged and inter- 
ested. Agriculture is pursued by one class, and commerce by 
another ; the mechanic arts, fine arts, and learned professions by 
others ; but fruit culture, to a greater or less extent, by all. 

It is the desire of every man, whatever may be his pursuit or 
condition in life, whether he live in town or country, to enjoy fine 
fruits, to provide them for his family, and, if possible, to cultivate 
the trees in his own garden with his own hands. The agricul- 
turist, whatever be the extent or condition of his grounds, con- 
siders an orchard^ at least, indispensable. The merchant or pro- 
fessional man who has, by half a lifetime of drudgery in town, 
secured a fortune or a competency that enables him to retire to a 
country or suburban villa, looks forward to his fruit garden as one 
of the chief sources of thos3 rural comforts and pleasures he so 
long and so earnestly labored and hoped for. The artizan who 
has laid up enough from his earnings to purchase a homestead, 
considers the planting of his fruit trees as one of the first and 
most important steps towards improvement. He anticipates the 
pleasure of tending them in his spare hours, of watching their 
growth and progress to maturity, and of gathering their ripe and 
delicious fruits, and placing them before his family and friends as 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

the valued products of his own garden, and of his own skill and 
labor. Fortunately, in the United States, land is so easily ob- 
tained as to be within the reach of every industrious man ; and 
the climate and soil being so favorable to the production of fruit, 
Americans, if they be not already, must become truly " a nation 
of fruit growers." 

Fruit culture, therefore, whether considered as a branch of 
profitable industry, or as exercising a most beneficial influence 
upon the health, habits, and tastes of the people, becomes a great 
national interest, and whatever may assist in making it better un- 
derstood, and more interesting, and better adapted to the various 
wants, tastes, and circumstances of the community, cannot fail to 
subserve the public good. 

Within a few years past it has received an unusual degree of 
attention. Plantations of all sorts, orchards, gardens, and nur- 
series, have increased in numbers and extent to a degree quite un- 
precedented ; not in one section or locality, but from the extreme 
north to the southern limits of the fruit-growing region. Foreign 
supplies of trees have been required to meet the suddenly and 
greatly increased demand. Treatises and periodicals devoted to the 
subject have increased rapidly and circulated widely. Horticul- 
tural societies have been organized in all parts ; while exhibitions, 
and national, state, and local conventions of fruit growers, have 
been held to discuss the merits of fruits and other kindred topics. 

To those unacquainted with the previous condition of fruit cul- 
ture in the interior of the country, this new planting spirit has 
appeared as a sort of speculative mania, and the idea has suo"- 
gested itself to them that the country will soon be overstocked 
with fruits. This is a greatly mistaken apprehension. After all 
that has been done, let us look at the actual condition of fruit 
culture at the present time. In the best fruit-growing counties 



INTKODUCTION. 



in the State of New York, the entire fruit plantations of more 
than three fourths of the agricultui-al population consist of very 
ordinary orchards of apples. Not a dish of fine pears, plums, 
cherries, apricots, grapes, or raspberries, has ever appeared on 
their tables, and not a step has yet been taken to produce them. 
People are but beginning to learn the uses of fruits, and to 
appreciate their importance. 

At one time apples were grown chiefly for cider ; now they are 
considered indispensable articles of food. The finer fruits, that 
were formerly considered as luxuries only for the tables of the 
wealthy, are beginning to take their place among the ordinary 
supplies of every man's table ; and this taste must grow from 
year to year, with an increased supply. Those who consume a 
bushel of fruit this year, will require double or treble that quantity 
next. The rapid increase of population alone, creates a demand 
to an extent that few people are aware of. The city of Roches- 
ter has added 20,000 to her numbers in ten years. Let such an 
increase as this in all our cities, towns, and villages, be estimated, 
and see what an aggregate annual amount of new consumers it 
presents. 

New markets are continually presenting themselves and de- 
manding large supplies. New and more perfect modes of pack- 
ing and shipping fruits, and of drying, preserving, and preparing 
them for various purposes to which they have not hitherto been 
appropriated, are beginning to enlist attention and inquiry. 

Immense amounts of money are annually expended in import- 
ing grapes, wines, figs, nuts, prunes, raisins, currants, almonds, 
&c., many of which might be produced perfectly well on our own 
soil. Pears have actually been imported from France by the 
New York confectioners, this present season, (1851.) These 
are facts that should be well understood by proprietors of lands. 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

and especially by those who have allowed themselves to imagine 
that fruit will soon be so plenty as not to be worth the growing. 

It is too soon by a century to apprehend an over supply of 
fruits in the United States, except of some very perishable sort, 
in a season of unusual abundance, in some particular locality 
where one branch of culture is mainly carried on. 

It is because fruit culture has been almost entirely neglected 
until within a few years, that the present activity appears so ex- 
traordinary. A vast majority of the people were quite unaware 
of the treasures within their reach ; and that in regard to soil and 
climate they possessed advantages for fruit growing superior to 
any other nation We had no popular works or periodicals to 
diffuse information or awaken interest on the subject. For four- 
teen or fifteen years Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture was the 
only journal exclusively devoted to gardening subjects, and it 
only found its way into the hands of the more advanced culti- 
vators. We had some treatises on fruits, but none of them cir- 
culated sufficiently to effect much good. Previous to 1845, Keri- 
rickh American Orchardist, and Manning''s Book of Fruits, were 
the principal treatises that had any circulation worth naming. 
Coxe's work, Floy's, Prince's, and some others, were confined 
almost wholl)* to nursery-men, or persons already engaged and 
interested in fruit culture in the older parts of the country. 

Mr. Downing's " Fruit and Fruit Trees of America," that ap- 
peared in 1845, was the first treatise of the kind that really ob- 
tained a wide and general circulation. 

It made its appearance at a favorable moment, just as the 
planting spirit referred to was beginning to manifest itself, and 
when, more than at any previous period, such a work was needed. 
Mr. Downing enjoyed great advantages over any previous Ameri- 
can writer. During the ten years that had elapsed since the 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

publication of Kenrick's and Prince's treatises, a great fund of 
materials had been accumulating. Messrs. Manning, Kenrick, 
Prince, Wilder, and many others, had been industriously collect- 
ing fruits both at home and abroad. The Massachusetts Horti- 
cultural Society was actively engaged in its labors. The London 
Horticultural Society had made great advancement in its exami- 
nation and trial of fruits, and had corrected a multitude of long 
standing errors in nomenclature. 

Mr. Downing's work had the benefit of all this ; and possessing 
the instructive feature of outline figures of fruits, and being writ- 
ten in a very agreeable and attractive style, it possessed the ele- 
ments of popularity and usefulness in an eminent degree. Hence 
it became at once the text-book of every man who sought for 
pomological information, or felt interested in fruits or fruit trees ; 
and to it is justly attributable much of the taste and spirit on the 
subject, and the increased attention to nomenclature, that so dis- 
tinguishes the present time. Mr. Thomas's recent treatise, " The 
American Fruit Culturist," on the same plan as Mr. Downing's, 
is also a popular work, and will be the means of diffusing both 
taste and information. Mr Thomas is a close and accurate 
observer, and his descriptions are peculiarly concise, methodical 
and minute. " Cole's Fruit Book" is also a recent treatise, and 
on account of its cheapness and the vast accumulation of facts 
and information it contains is highly popular and useful. Be- 
sides these, periodicals devoted more or less to the subject, have 
increased in number and greatly extended their circulation, so 
that information is now accessible to all who desire it. 

The light which has been shed upon fruit-growing by these 
works, and the taste they have created, have not only improved 
old systems of cultivation, but introduced new ones. Until within 
a few years nothing was said or known among the great body of 



VTLU INTEODUCTION. 

cultivators, or even nursery-men, of dwarfing trees, of the uses of 
certain stocks, or of modes of propagation and pruning by which 
trees are made to bear early, and are adapted to different circum- 
stances. The entire routine of the propagation and management 
of trees was conducted generally in the simplest and rudest manner. 
Whether for the garden or the orchard they were propagated in 
the same manner, on the same stocks, and in the same form 
taken from the nursery, planted out and left there to assume such 
forms as nature or accident might impose, and produce fruit at 
such a time as natural circumstances would admit. 

The art of planting fifty trees on a quarter of an acre of 
ground, and bringing them into a fruitful state in four or five 
years at most, was entirely unknown. Small gardens were en- 
cumbered with tall, unshapely, and unfruitful trees, that afforded 
no pleasure to the cultivator ; and thousands of persons, who are 
now the most enthusiastic cultivators, were entirely discouraged 
from the attempt 

Fruit gardening, properly speaking, may be said only to have 
commenced. It is no longer a matter of mere utility, but of 
taste also ; and, therefore, adaptation, variety, and beauty, are 
sought for in garden trees and modes of culture and management. 
Nothing so distinguishes the taste of modern planting as the 
partiality for dwarf trees, and the desire to obtain information in 
regard to their propagation and treatment. 

This has not been anticipated by any of our authors. The 
standard or orchard system alone is fully treated of, as being the 
only one practised ; and this requires so little skill in the art of 
culture, that only the simplest instructions have been given. 
The very elements of the science have been unexplained and 
unstudied, and cultivators in the main find themselves both desti- 
tute of knowledge in regard to the management of trees in the 



INTEODUCTION. IX 

more refined and artificial forms, and the sources from which to 
obtain it. But a very small proportion of those engaged or En- 
gaging in tree culture have studied the physiology of trees in any 
degree. Very few have the slightest knowledge of the modes of 
growth and bearing of the difierent species of fruits, or even of the 
difi*erence between wood or leaf buds, and fruit buds. Very few 
understand the functions of the diflferent parts of trees, and the 
relation in which they stand one to another ; the principles that 
govern and regulate the growth and maturity, the formation of 
wood and the production of fruit. Practice is no better under- 
stood than principle. Persons engaged largely in tree growing 
will frequently ask the most absurd questions on the subject of 
propagation, of stocks, of pruning, &c., matters that should be 
understood by every man who has a single tree to manage, but 
especially indispensable to those who wish to succeed in conduct- 
ing garden trees under certain modified forms, more or less 
opposed to the natural. The preparation of ground, laying out 
small gardens, the selection of suitable trees, and a multitude of 
minor but nevertheless important matters, are very imperfectly 
understood. Neither our state nor national governments have 
ever manifested a disposition to favor the rural arts with any- 
thing like a liberal patronizing policy. Advanced, wealthy and 
powerful as we are, not a single step has been taken, in earnest, 
to establish model farms or model gardens, in which experiments 
might be made and examples given that would enlighten cultiva- 
tors, and elevate and honor their profession. Whatever advance 
has been made is due wholly to individual taste, energy, and enter- 
prise ; and to these alone are we permitted to look for future 
progress. 

Having for many years devoted much attention to this particu- 
lar branch of culture, and feeling deeply interested in its success, 
1* 



X INTRODUCTION. 

and having, by a business intercourse with cultivators in all parts 
oftkhe country, an ample opportunity of understanding the nature 
and extent of the information desired, I have prepared the fol- 
lowing pages to supply it at least in part. 

I am well convinced that the work is neither perfect nor com- 
plete. It has been prepared, during a few weeks of the winter, in 
the midst of other engagements that rendered it impossible to be- 
stow upon it the necessary care and labor. My original intention 
was to give a few brief directions for the management of garden 
trees, but it was suggested by friends that it would prove more 
generally useful by adding a sketch of the entire routine of opera- 
tions, from the propagation in the nursery to the management in 
the orchard and garden. This has involved much more labor 
than it was intended to bestow on it, or than I could really spare 
from business. It has, therefore, been performed hastily, and, 
of course, in many respects imperfectly, but yet it is hoped it 
contains such an exposition of principles and practices as cannot 
fail to diffuse amongst the inexperienced much needed informa- 
tion. All doubtful theories, and whatever had not a direct prac- 
tical bearing on the subjects treated, have been excluded, both 
for the sake of brevity, and to avoid anything calculated to 
mislead. The principles and practices set forth are not new, 
visionary, or doubtful, but such as are taught and practised by the 
most accomplished cultivators of the day, and have been success- 
fully carried out in the daily operations of our own establishment. 

In the pruning and management of garden trees, the French 
arboriculturists surpass all others. Their trees are models that 
have no equals, and that all the world admire. The English, 
notwithstanding their gieat gardening skill, and their refined 
and elegant modes of culture, are far behind the French in the 
management of fruit trees. French eystems of pruning and 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

training are at this moment advocated and held up as models by 
such men as Mr. Robert Thompson, head of the fruit department 
in the London Horticultural Society's Garden ; by Mr. Rivers, 
well known on this side of the Atlantic as one of the most ener- 
getic and accomplished nurserymen in Great Britain ; and by 
many others whose skill and judgment command attention. Their 
introduction to English gardens is going on rapidly, and bids fair 
to revolutionize their whole practice of fruit tree culture. 

D'Albret's great work on pruning is conceded to be the best 
extant on that subject. He was the pupil and successor of M. 
7'houin, the world-renowned vegetable physiologist and founder 
of the great national gardens at Paris. His practice is founded 
upon the true principles of vegetable physiology, and strengthened 
by long years of the most minute and successful experiment. 

M. Dubrieul, late conductor of the fruit department in the 
Garden of Rouen, has also published an excellent treatise on 
arboriculture ; and there are many other French works on the 
subject, all showing how thoroughly the science is there under- 
stood, and how minutely and skilfully its principles are dealt with, 
all, These as well as the best-managed gardens and the most 
perfect and beautiful trees in France and Belgium, have been 
carefully studied. 

The knowledge thus acquired, added to the experience of many 
years' actual and extensive practice, constitutes the basis of the 
course recommended. 

The same minute detail that characterizes European works has 
not been attempted, yet much detail is absolutely necessary in 
order to prevent misapprehension on the part of those wholly 
inexperienced. 

Writers are apt to treat simple matters too much in the general, 
presuming them to be well understood. Detail is always tedious 



XU INTEODUCTION. 

to those familiar with the subject, but nothing less can be satisfacv 
tory to the student. 

For the sake of convenient reference, the different branches of 
the subject have been separated into four parts. The first 
treats of general principles, a knowledge of the structure, 
character, and functions of the different parts of trees, modes of 
growth, bearing, &c., &c. ; soils, manures, modes of propagation, 
&c. This must be the ground-work of the study of tree culture. 
The second treats of the nursery. The third of plantations, 
orchards of different kinds, gardens, &c. ; their laying out and 
management, and of the pruning and training of trees in different 
forms. The fourth contains abridged descriptions of the best 
fruits, a chapter on gathering and preserving fruits, another on 
diseases and insects, and another on the implements in com- 
mon use. 

Illustrations have been introduced wherever the nature of the 
subject seemed to require them, and it was possible to get them 
prepared. It is believed that these will prove of great value in 
imparting a correct knowledge of the various subjects. Upwards 
of one hundred of the more important figures have been drawn 
from nature by Prof. Sintzenich of Rochester. 

P. B. 

Mount Hope Garden and Nurseries^ ) 

KOCHESTER, N. Y. i 



CONTENTS 



PAET I. 
GE]S^EEAL PEIKCIPLES. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Names, Descriptions, and Offices of the Different Parts* of 
Fruit Trees, ....... 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Soils, ......... 48 

CHAPTER III. 
Manures, ........ 54 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Different Modes of Propagating Fruit Trees, . . 60 

CHAPTER V. 

Pruning — Its Principles and Practice, . . , • 83 



XIV CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

THE NURSERY, 105 

PART III. 
PLANTATIONS, ORCHARDS, ETC. 

CHAPTER I. 

Permanent Plantations of Fruit Trees, . . . 157 

CHAPTER II. 

Pruning applied to the Different Species of Fruit Trees 
UNDER Different Forms, ..... 203 

PART IV. 

SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

CHAPTER I. 

Abridged Descriptions of Select Varieties of Fruits, . 27*7 

CHAPTER II. 

Gathering, Packing, Transportation AND Preservation of Fruits, 354 

CHAPTER III. 
Diseases and Insects, ..... 361 

CHAPTER IV. 

Nursery, Orchard and Fruit Garden Implements, . . 377 



PART I. 

GENERAL PEINCIPLES 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



CHAPTER I 



NAJVIES, DESCEIPTIO]S^S, Al^D OFFICES OF THE DIF- 
FERENT PARTS OF FRUIT TREES. 



General HemarJiS. — 
of many j)^^^^? such as 




Fig. 1. 

Fts". 1, a tree. A, the collar. B, 
t'.e main root. C, lateral root. 
D, fibres. E, stem or trunk. F, 
main branches. G, secondary- 
branches. H, shoots, one year's 
growth 



A Tree is a living body composed 
roots, brandies, leaves, buds, blos- 
soms, fruit, &c. All these have 
different offices to fulfil, assume 
different forms and characters, and 
are known and designated from 
one another by different names 
when subjected to the practical 
operation of culture. Without 
some knowledge of the names and 
structure of these different parts, 
of the principles that guide their 
development, their relative connec- 
tion with, and influence upon one 
another, tree culture cannot be, 
to any man, really pleasant, in- 
tellectual, or successful ; but a 
misty, uncertain, unintelligible 
routine of manual labor. 

The industry of our times is pe- 
culiarly distinguished by the ap- 
plication of science — the union of 
theory with practice in every de- 
partment ; and surely the votaries 
of the garden, whose labors, of 



2 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

all otliers, should be intelligent, will not allow themselves 
io Ml behind and. perform their labors in tlie dark. 

Fully sensible of the importance of this preliminary 
study, and confident that the minute and practical details 
of culture cannot be well understood without it, I propose 
here, before entering upon the main subject, to describe, 
in as few and as plain words as possible, the structure, 
character, connection, and respective oifices of the various 
parts of fruit trees, and the names by which each is 
known in practice. 

Section 1. — ^Tiie Root. 

The Hoot is composed of several parts. 

1st. The coIIa?'{A^ fig. 1), which is the centre of growth, 
or point of union between the root and stem, usually at 
or just below the surface of the ground. In root graft- 
ing seedlings, this is the point where the graft is set. 

2d. The hochj or inain root {B^ fig. 1), w^hich usually 
penetrates the earth in a vertical direction, and decreases 
in size as it proceeds downwards from the collar. It is 
also called the %:? root. A seedling that has not been 
transplanted has usually but one descending or tap root, 
furnished in all its length with minute hairy fibres. 

3d. The lateral roots{C\ fig. l)are principal divisions or 
branches of the main root, and take more or less of a 
spreading or horizontal direction. When - seedlings are 
transj)lanted, having a ^^Oi'tion of the tap root cut ofij 
these lateral or side roots are immediately formed. 

4th. The fibres or rootlets {D^ fig. 1) are the minute hair- 
like roots which we see most abundant on trees that have 
been frequently transplanted. Different species of trees 
vary much in their natural tendency to produce fibres. 
Thus the pear and the apple require frequent transplant- 
ing, and often root pruning, to produce that fibrous condi- 
tion which is necessary to great fruitf illness ; whilst the 



THE KOOT. 3 

paradise apple, usecl as a stock for dwarf trees, and the 
quince, are always quite fibrous, the former never, and 
the latter seldom requiring root pruning. 

5th. 27ie spo?igioles are the extremities of the fibres, 
porous and spongy, through which the food of trees de- 
rived from the soil is mainly absorbed ; these points are 
composed of soft, newly-formed, delicate tissue, and are 
exceedingly susceptible of injury. The slightest bruise or 
exposure to a dry or cold air is fatal to them ; and this 
is the reason why transplanted trees receive generally 
such a severe check and so frequently die. If trees could 
be taken up in such a way that these spongioles could all, 
or mostly, be preserved, trees would receive no check 
whatever ; hence large trees are removed in midsummer 
without a leaf flagging. 

6th. Groiotli of Roots. — The most popular theory at this 
time is — ^that the grow^th of roots is produced by the jjro- 
longment of the w^oody vessels of the stem, which descend 
in successive layers to the extremities of the roots, and 
thus promote their extension. 

When these descending layers are interrupted in their 
course by some natural or accidental cause, or by art, as 
when we cut off the ends of roots, they pierce the bark 
and form new roots or new divisions of the root in the 
same manner that branches are produced on the stem. 
Thus the roots furnish food to the stem and branches for 
their support and enlargement, and in return, the stem and 
branches send down layers of young wood to increase and 
solidify the root ; the one depending entirely upon the other 
for its growth and existence. Practical cultivators are 
familiar with many facts that illustrate the intimate rela- 
tions and mutual dependency of the roots and stems. 
For instance, where one portion of the head or branches 
is much larger or more vigorous than the other, if the 
roots be examined, it will be found that those immediately 



4 GENEE^U. PKIJSCIPLES. 

under, or in direct connection with the largest branches, 
will have a corresponding size and vigor. In cases where 
one side of the top of a large tree is cut off, as in top 
grafting, a large number of new shoots are produced on 
the cut branch, and, if the roots be examined under or 
in connection with this branch, a corresponding new 
growth will be found there. It is quite obvious from 
these and similar facts, that whatever affects the roots or 
stems of trees favorably or unfavorably, afiects the wdiole 
tree. If the foliage of a tree be entirely removed in the 
growing season, the absorbent action of the roots is sus- 
j^ended ; and if the sj)ongioles or absorbing j^oints of the 
roots be cut off, the growth of the top instantly ceases. 
Those who have leisure should pursue the study of these 
highly interesting and important points still further. 

Section 2. — •The Stem. 

The Stem is that part of a tree which starts from the 
collar and grows upwards. It sustains all the branches, 
and forms the channel of communication between the 
different parts of the tree from one extremity to the other. 

Plants like the graj^e, with twining or climbing stems, 
are called vines, and such as have no main stem, but have 
branches diverging from the collar, as the gooseberry, cur- 
rant, &c., are called shruhs or hushes. Where the stem is 
destitute of branches to some distance from the ground, 
it is usually called the tru7iJv. 

Different Parts of the Stem. — A stem or branch of a 
tree is composed of the following parts, which are dis- 
tinctly observable when we cut it across. Fig. 2 repre- 
sents the half of a cross section of the stem of a young 
tree five years old. 

1. The Rind or Outer Barh {A) on shoots or young parts 
of trees ; this is thin, smooth, and delicate, like tissue 



THE STEM. 



paper, and is easily separated from tlie pai-ts beneath it. 

In some species, as the 



grape vine, for example, 
this rind is shed and re- 
newed annnallj, whilst 
in others, as the apple, 
23ear, tkc, it unites with 
the layer of tissue be- 
neath it, and forms a 
hard, scaly, or corky 
substance, usually call- 
ed cortical layers^ which 




, Fig. 2, half of the hori- 
zontal section of a five year 
old stem. Jl^ outer bark 
or rind. B. inner bark or 
lil)er. C. sap-wood or last 
formed layer. Z), perfect wood. 



Fig. 2. 



E, pith. F, 



vertical section of a five year old stem, showing Separate frOm the tree 

fib'el'''''""^' """'"'""'" '''"''''"'"" at different periods, ac- 
cording to the age of the 
subject and other circumstances. 

It is these cortical layers that give rise to the expres- 
sions smooth and roiigTi back. 

2. The Inner Bccrh or Liber {B) — ^This is the interior 
portion of the bark in immediate contact with the wood. 
It is composed of perpendicular layers of soft, flexible 
fibres, filled up with tissue. It is this part of the bark of 
the Basswood that is used for budding ties, &c., the tissue 
being se^^arated from the woody fibre by maceration. 

3. The Saj>-woocl {O.) — ^This is the youngest or last- 
formed layer of wood, immediately below the inner bark. 
It is distinguished in all trees by being softer and lighter 
colored than the older parts. 

4. The Heart or Perfect^woocl {B.) — This is the central 
or interior portion of the stem or branch, grown firm and 
mature by age. It is generally a shade darker in color 
than the newly-formed part or sap-wood. 

5. The Pith {E) — ^This is the soft, spongy substance 
in the centre of the stem and branches. In soft-wooded 
species, like the grape vine, it is large ; in hard-wooded 



6 GENERAL PEINGIPLE3. 

species, as the apple, pear, quince, etc., small. In yonng 
shoots it is soft, green, and succulent, and fills an impor- 
tant part in tlieir development. In the old part it is dry, 
shrivelled, and seems incapable of taking any part in the 
process of vegetation, and this ajDpears evident from the 
fact that trees often continue to flourish after the centre, 
containing the pith, has begun to decay. 

Stritcture of the Stem. — ^The stem is composed of 
woody fibre and cellular tissue, a substance similar to the 
pith. The woody fibre is arranged in perpendicular layers, 
and the cellular tissue in horizontal layers, running from 
the pith to the bark and connecting them. The mingling 
of these two systems gives to the surface of the cross sec- 
tion of a stem the beautiful veined or netted appearance 
observable in fig. 2. The perpendicular layers of woody 
fibre are most clearly observable when we cut a stem ver- 
tically ; they are then easily separated from one another. 
The layers or plates of tissue radiating from the centre 
to the stem are usually called the medullary rays. 

The inner bark or liber, as has been stated, is, like the 
wood, composed of thin layers of delicate perpendicular 
fibres mixed with tissue. 

GrowtJi of tlie Stem. — ^The stem of a tree is originally 
the extension of the cellular tissue of the seed. As soon as 
leaves are formed they organize new matter, which de- 
scends and forms woody fibres : the layers sent down from 
the first leaves are covered with those sent down from the 
next, and so on, one layer after another is produced until 
the end of the season, w^hen the leaves fall and growth 
ceases. A yearling tree has, therefore, a greater number 
of layers of woody fibre at the collar than at the top, and 
is, consequently, thicker ; the second year the buds on 
the first year's growth produce shoots, and these organize 
new layers of w^oody fibre, that descend and cover those 
of the previous year, and thus growth proceeds from 



EKANCIIES» 7 

year to yerir. Between eacli year's growth there is gene- 
rally a line, in some cases more conspicuous than in 
others, that marks off the formation of each year, so 
that we are able to reckon the ages of trees "with great 
accuracy by these rings. When it happens that a tree, 
from certain circumstances, makes more growth one season 
than another, we find the ring of that season larger. The 
new wood is always formed between the inner bark and 
the last layer of wood, so that one layer is laid upon, and 
outside of another, and the bark is continually pressed 
outwards. 

The new layers of bark are also formed at the same 
place, or witJiin the previous one. From this mode of 
growth, it results that each layer of wood is more deeply 
imbedded as others are formed on the top of it ; and 
each layer of bark is pressed outwards as others are 
formed within it. In some cases, as in the cherry, for 
example, the bark is so tough as not always to yield to 
the general expansion of the tree, and slitting is resorted 
to for the purpose of preventing an unnatural rupture, 
which would eventually take place by the continued 
pressure of growth from within. 

Section 3. — Beanches. 

BrancTies are the divisions of the stem, and have an 
organization precisely similar : they are designated as, 

1st. Main Branches {F^ fig. 1) ; those that are directly 
connected with the stem or trunk. In pyramidal trees, 
they are called lateral hranehes. The branches of different 
species and varieties of fruit trees, dift'er much in their 
habits of growth ; and it is highly important to the j^lanter to 
consider these j)eculiarities, because certain habits of growth 
are better adapted to particular circumstances than others. 
Thus we have erect hranehes (fig. 3), which produce trees 



GENEllAL PEmCIPLES. 



of an iipriglit and compact form. Curved erect IjranGlies 
(fig. 4), proceeding almost horizontally from the stem for 
a short distance, and then becoming erect ; these, also, 




Fig. 3. 



Fig. 4. 



F?"g-5. 3, 4, 5, different habits of growth of trees. 3. erect; 4, curved erect; 6, 
spreading or horizontal. 

form upright symmetrical heads, bnt mnch more open than 
the preceding. Also, liorizontal or sjpreading hranches 
(fig. 5), that form wide-spreading heads with irregnlar 
outline. And, lastly, drooping hranclies^ when they fall 
below the horizontal line. The branches of most varie- 
ties of apples and pears become pendulous when they 
have borne some time ; and even in young trees of par- 
ticular varieties, some of the branches assume a drooping 
and irregular habit. 

2d. Secondary Brandies {G, fig. 1), are the divisions 
of the main brandies : occasionally those near the stem 
take such a j^rominent part in forming the outline of the 
tree, as to assume all the character of main branches, ex- 
cepting in position. 

3d. Shoots {JI^ fig. 1). This is the name by which 



BRANCHES. y 

young parts are designated from the time tLey emerge 
from the bud mitil they have completed their first 
season's growth. Th^se have also important peculiarities 
that serve to distinguish certain varieties. They are vari- 
ously designated as stout or slender, st{ff or flexible, erect 
or siyireading , short jointed if the buds be close together, 
and long jointed when the contrary. The colors of their 
bark are also strikingly different, and form very obvious 
distinctions amongst varieties. The Snoio Peach, for in- 
stance, has pale greenish shoots, by which it is at once 
distinguished. The Jargonelle,Rostiezer, and many other 
varieties of the pear, have dark ]yur]plish shoots, w^hile 
the Dix and St. Germain are quite yellowish, the Glout 




Fig. 6. 



Fig. 7. 



Fig. 8. 



F'tg. 6, wood branch of the apple. 7. fruit branch ; Ji, B, C, young spurs on two- 
year-old wood. 8, fruit branch of the pear ; Jl, B, C, young spurs on two-year-old 
wood. 

I-' 



10 



GENERAL PKINCIPLES. 



Morceau, grey or drab, and the Bartlett and Bnffam 
quite reddish. The shoots of certain varieties of apples 
and pears, and especially plums, are distinguished by 
being doimy, fimiished to a greater or less extent with a 
soft and hairy covering — in some cases barely observ- 
able. 

4th. Wood Brandies (fig. 6) are those bearing only 
wood buds. 

5th. Fruit Brandies are those bearing fruit buds ex- 
clusively. They are presented to us under different forms 
and circumstances, all of which it is of the highest im- 
portance to understand. 

In kernel fruits, such as the apple and pear, the most 
ordinary form of the fruit branch is that generally called 
the fruit spur {A, B, (7, figs. Y, 8, 9). It appears first as 
a prominent bud, as in fig. 7, on wood at least two years 
old ; and for two or three seasons it ]3roduces but a rosette 

of leaves, and con- 
tinues to increase 
in length, as in fig. 
9. After it has 
produced fruit, it 
generally branches, 
and, if properly managed, will 
bear fruit for many years. Ap- 
ple and pear trees of bearing 
age, and in a fruitful condition, 
will be found covered with 
these spurs on all parts of the 
head except the young shoots. 
In addition to the fruit spur, 
there are on the kernel fruits 
slender y^m^ hrandies, about as 
large as a goose quill, and from 
six to eight inches in length (fig. 10) ; the buds are long. 




Fig. 9, fruit branch of the pear. 
A, B, and C. older spurs. 



BliAXCIIES. 



11 



narrow, and prominent, and tlie first year or two after 
their appearance, produce but rosettes of leaves, yielding 
fruit generally about tlie third year. On trees well fur- 
nished with fruit spurs, these slender branches are of 
little account, but they are useful 
on 3X)ung trees not fully in a bear- 
ing state. They are generally pro- 
duced on the low^er or older parts 
of the branches or stem, and, in 
the first place, are slender shoots 
with wood buds only ; but ovv'ing to 
their unfavorable position and fee- 
ble structure, they receive only a 
small portion of the ascending sap, 
and the consequence is, they be- 
come stunted, and transformed 
into fruit branches. In pruning 
young trees, slender shoots are fre- 
quently bent over, or fastened in a 
crooked position to transform them 
into fruit branches of this kind ; 
but this will be treated of in its 
proper place. 

Certain varieties of apj^les have 
a natural habit of bearing the fruit 
on the points of the lateral shoots ; 
and frequently these terminal fruit 
buds are formed during the first 
season's growth of the shoot. Fig. 
11 is an example ; ^ is the point 

where a fruit was borne last season ; B^ a shoot of last 
season ; and C its terminal bud, which is a fruit bud. 
The fruit branches of the jpeach^ ajpricot^ and nectarine^ 
are productions of one season's growth ; the fniit buds 
form one season and blossom the next; but as on tho 




Fig, 10. 



Fig. U 



Fig. 10, slender fruit branch 
of the apple— all the buds are 
fruit buds. Fig. 11, a branch 
of the apple showing the ten- 
dency of sume varieties to 
bear on the points of the 
branches. A^ the point where 
a fruit was borne last season ; 
B, a shoot of last year; C. its 
terminal fruit bud. 



12 



GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 




Fig. 12 , fruit spur of the 
peach on the old wood. 



apj)le and pear, there 
are difierent forms 
of the fiTiit branch. 

In the first place 
the fruit spur (J., 
fig. 12), a group of 
buds like a bouquet ; 
these are little stunt- 
ed branches on the 
older wood that have 
assumed this form. 
The most important 
fruit branches of these trees are the vigorous 
shoots of the last season's growth, containing 
both fruit and wood buds (fig. 13), and the 
slender fruit branches, bearing all single 
fruit buds, except a wood bud or two at the 
base. Fig. 14 represents such a branch of 
the peach, A and B being wood buds. The 
fruit branches of \h.Q])l%im and cherry^ and 
the gooseberry and currant^ are similarly pro- 
duced. A yearling shoot, for instance, the 
second season, will produce a shoot from its 
terminal bud, and probably shoots from two or 
three other buds immediately below the ter- 
minal, whilst those lower down will be trans- 
formed into fruit buds, and produce fruit 
the third season. Fig. 15 is a branch of the 
cherry. A is the two-year-old wood; _Z?, 
one year ; G and D, fruit spurs on the two- 
year-old wood, with a wood bud usually at 
the point. Fig. 16 is a fruit spur from the 
older wood; A^ the wood bud at its point. 



J[tl\ f^'r^ T^'t '"^ ^'"" ''''"''^'^ "^ *^^ P^^^^ '• ^- ^- E. fruit buds ; F, O, 
H, leaf buds ; J, double buds ; C, triple ' - ' • ' 

and the centre one a loaf bud. 



buds, the two side buds being fruit buds, 



BRANCHES. 



13 



Fig. IT in a "brancli of tlie j)lnm ; A, the two-year-olu 
wood; J?, one year old; C and D, spurs. Fig. 18 is a 




Fig. 14. 

Fig. 14, a slender fruit branch of 
the peach ; all the buds except ^ 
and B, and the terminal one, are 
fruit buds. 



fruit spur from older wood. 
The wood bud in the cen- 
tre of these groups of 
buds on the spur enables 
them to increase in length 
every season. 'New buds 
are produced to replace 
those that bear, and so 
the sj)urs continue fruit- 
ful for several years, ac- 
cording to the vigor of 
the tree, and the manner in which it is treated. 



Fig. 16. 



Fig. 15. 



Fig-. 15, branch of the cherry ; A^ two- 
year- old wood ; B, one year ; C and D, 
fruit spurs. Fig. 16, fruit spur of the cherry ; 
the bud Jl, in the centre of the group, is a 
wood bud. 



14 



GENERAL PEESTCIPLES. 



Fig. 18. 
Fig. 17, branch of the 



The fruit branches of the quince and the 
medlar are slender twigs on the sides of 
lateral branches, and the iruit is borne on 
their points. 



Section 4. — Buds. 

1st. The Nature 
and Functions of 
Buds. — In a prac- 
tical point of view, 
buds are certainly 
the most important 
organs of trees, be- 
cause it is through 
them we are en- 
abled completely to 
direct and control 
their forms and 




Fig. 17. 



plum ; .3, two-year-oid ^Q\y, productivcness. 

wood ; B, one year old ; C and D, spurs. Fig. 18, ^^-^ 

fruit spur of the plum on the old wood. Whocver, therefore, 

wishes to become a 
skilful and successful tree culturist, must not fail to 
make himself familiar with all their forms, modiiications, 
modes of development, and the purposes they are adaj^ted 
to fulfil in the formation of the tree and its products. The 
immediate causes of the production of buds on the growing 
shoots of trees, and the sources from which they spring or 
in which they originate, are alike thus far mysterious, 
notwithstanding they have been the subject of a vast deal 
of research and speculation among botanists and vegetable 
physiologists for many ages. We are able, however, to 
trace clearly and satisfactorily the objects they are 



BUDS. 15 

intended to fulfil in the development of the tree, their 
connection with, and dependency nj^on other parts, and 
the circumstances under which thej can he made to ac- 
complish specific purposes. 

Every bnd contains the rudiments of, and is capable, 
under favorable circumstances, of producing a new indi- 
vidual similar to that on which it is borne. 

This fact is clearly demonstrated in the propagation of 
trees by budding, where a single eye is removed from one 
shoot and placed in the wood of another, to which it 
unites and forms a new individual similar to its parent. 
So in ^propagation by eyes, as in the grape vine, where a 
single bud with a small portion of wood attached, becomes 
a perfect plant. 

Every perfect bud we find on a young yearling tree or 
shoot is capable of being developed into a branch. Na- 
turally, they do not ; but we know that by the application 
of art they can be readily forced to do so. 

For instance, the buds of a yearling tree, if left to take 
their natural course, will only in part produce branches, 
and these will generally be nearer to the extremities, 
wdiere they are the most excitable, being in closer con- 
nection with the centre of vegetation : but we cause the 
lower ones to develope branches, by cutting off those 
above them to the extent that the particular character of 
the species or variety, or of the buds themselves in respect 
to vigor and vitality, may require. Hence it is that the 
forms of trees are so completely under our control when 
we j)0ssess the requisite knowledge of the character and 
modes of vegetation of buds. 

2d. Different Names and Characters of Buds. — All buds 
are either, 1st, terminal.^ as when on the points of shoots 
(6^, fig. 19); 2d, axillary^ when accompanied by a leaf 
situated in the angle made by the projection of the leaf 
from the shoot or branch {A B^ fig. 19) ; 3d, adventi- 



16 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

tious or accidental^ when originating accidentally as it 
were, or without any regularity, on the older parts of trees, 




Fig. 19. — Lateral Branch. 
Fig. 19. ^, a superior bud. B, inferior. C, terminal, Jl and B, axillary. 

and unaccompanied by a leaf. They are often produced 
by the breaking or cutting off a branch, or by a wound 
or incision made in the bark. In the management of 
trained trees special means are taken to produce these 
buds on spaces of the trunk that it is desirable to fill up. 
We sometimes see instances of such buds on the stumps 
of old trees. 

The temiinal and axillary buds produced on young 
shoots, seem to have a difierent origin from these acci- 
dental buds — the former are connected with the pith of 
the shoot, as we may see by dissecting them. On cutting 
into a young shoot below a bud we find a cylinder of pith 
entering into the bud from the pith of the shoot, but 
we do not find this connection existing in the case of the 
adventitious buds. 

Practically considered, buds are classified as follows : — 

1. Lateral. — ^Those on the sides or circumference of 

shoots, being the aa^/ZZar?/ buds of the botanist {A^ B^ 
19). 

2. Terminal. — ^Those on the points of shoots ((7, fig. 19). 

3. Superior. — ^Those on the upper sides of horizontal 

branches {A^ fig. 19), 



BUDS. IT 

4. Inferim\ — ^Tliose on the lower side of horizontal 

branches {B^ fig. 19). 

5. Stijpular. — The small, barely visible buds found at the 

base of ordinary buds. 
C. Dormant or Latent. — ^These are scarcely apparent buds, 
generally towards the base of branches : They may 
remain dormant for several years, and then, in some 
species, be excited into growth by pruning close to 
them. 
Buds are again classed as leafhuds ^nd frtiit huds. 
7. Zeaf Buds (i^, G, II, fig. 13) produce either leaves or 
branches ; they diflfer in form from fruit buds in 
being in most cases longer and more pointed in the 
same species. 
These are again designated as — 
Single, when only one is produced at the same point {II, 

fig. 13). 
DouUe, when two are together (Z, fig. 13). 
Trijple, when in threes ((7 and J, fig. 13). 

These double and triple buds are almost peculiar to the 
stone fruits, and especially the peach, apricot, and 
nectarine. 

The size, form, and prominence of leaf buds vary in a 
striking degree in difi^erent varieties of the same species, 
and these peculiarities are found to be of considerable 
service in identifying and describing sorts. Thus, the 
buds of one variety will be long, pointed and compressed, 
or lying close to the shoot. Others will be large, oval 
and prominent, or standing boldly out from the shoot. 
Others will be small, full, and round. Thus, for instance, 
the wood buds of the Gloiit Morceaii are shoi*t and conical, 
broad at the base, and taper suddenly to a very sharp 
point inclined towards the shoot ; they have also very pro- 
minent shoulders, that is, their base forms a prominent 
projection on the shoot. The scales are also dark, with 



18 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

liglit gray edges. In tlie Josephine de Maline pear the 
buds are quite remarkable for their roundness, bluntness 
and prominence. If shoots of the Bartlett and Seckel 
pears, two well known varieties, be compared, although 
they present no decidedly obvious peculiarities, yet they 
will be found very diiferent. Those of the SecJi'el are 
much broader at the base, more pointed, and lighter 
colored, being a dark drab^ whilst those of the Bartlett 
are reddish. These miscellaneous instances are chosen 
simply to draw attention to these points, and to show the 
ordinary modes of comparison. ■ When we speak of leaf 
buds, we have reference only to the simple bud and not 
to the large, pointed, spur-like productions frequently pro- 
duced towards the middle or lower part of young shoots 
that have made a second growth, that is where growth 
has ceased for a while and the terminal bud has been 
formed, and afterwards, in the same season, commenced 
anew, and made a second growth. 

8. Fruit Buds. — In the early stages of their formation 
and OTOwth all buds are but leaf buds. Thus, on a younoj 
shoot of the cherry and the plum, for example, of one sea- 
son's growth, the buds are all leaf buds. The next spring 
a part of these produce new shoots, and others are 
transformed into fruit buds that will bear fruit ih.Q follow- 
ing season. The transformation is accomplished during 
the second year of their existence, and it usuall}^ happens 
that they are the smallest and least fully developed 
that are so transformed : XhQ more vigorous pushing into 
branches. In the peach, the apricot, &c., on which the 
fruit buds are produced in one year, the change from a 
leaf to a fruit bud occurs towards the latter part of the sea- 
son. The 2:)rimary cause of the transformation of leaf into 
fruit buds is not satisfactorily known, although many theo- 
ries exist on the subject. Observation, however, has taught 
us many things in relation to it. It seems that all trees 



BUDS. 19 

must acquire a certain maturity, either natural or forced, 
in order to produce blossoms or fruit. A tree that is fur- 
nished with a rich, humid soil, containing an abundance of 
watery nutriment, and left in allTespects unrestrained in 
its upward growth, may attain the age of ten or fifteen 
years before it commences to form fruit buds ; whilst in a 
soil of a different quality, dry and less favorable to rapid 
growth, or if constrained in its growth by being grafted on 
some particular stock, or by some particular mode of train- 
ing, it may produce fruit in two or three years. 

An apple tree on a common stock, planted out in ordi- 
nary orchard soil, does not usually bear until it is in most 
cases seven years old from the bud, often more ; w^hilst the 
same variety grafted or budded on a paradise apple stocJi 
will produce in two or three at most. We frequently see 
one branch of a tree that has been accidentally placed in 
a more horizontal position than the other parts, or that has 
been tightly comjiressed with a bandage or something of 
that sort, bear fruit abundantly ; whilst the erect, uncon- 
strained portion of the tree gives no sign of fruitfulness 
whatever. As a general thing, we find that where there 
is an abundant and constant supply of sap or nutriment 
furnished to the roots of trees and conveyed by them 
through the unrestrained channels which the large cells 
and porous character of young wood afford, the whole 
forces of the tree will be spent in the production of new 
shoots ; but that as trees grow old, the cells become small- 
er, and the tree being also more branched the free course 
of the sap is obstructed, and becomes in consequence bet- 
ter elaborated, or in other words more maUcre^ and com- 
mences the production of fruit. Circumstances similar in 
all respects to these and answering exactly the same pur- 
pose, can be produced by art at an early age of the tree ; 
and this is one of the leading points in the culture and 
management of garden trees, where smallness of size and 



20 



GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 



early fmitfulness are so higUy desirable. Tliis will come 
under consideration in another place. 

Fruit buds in most cases are distinguisliable from wood 
buds by their rounder and fuller form ; the scales that cover 
them are broader and less nnmerous, and in the spring they 
begin to swell and show signs of opening at an earlier ]3e- 
riod. Like the wood buds they are single^ double^ or triple^ 
according to the number found together. They are single 
in j)ears, apples, and other trees of that class. Single^ 
douhle^ and triple^ variously, on the stone fruits, gooseber- 
ries, and currants. 

Fruit buds are also simple and compound. Shn2?le^ as 
in the^^acA, ajpricot^ and almond.^ each bud of which pro- 

y^^ duces but one 

flower. Com- 

pound., as in the 
plum^ cJierry^ ap)- 
ple^ jpear.^ &c., 
each bud of 
which produces 
two or more flow- 
ers. Those of the 
plum j)^'Ot^^^ce 
two or three, 
hence we find 
plums usually 
borne in pairs ; 
those of the cher- 
ry four or five (fig. 20), and of the ai3ple and pear six to 
eight ; and hence we often find these fruits borne in clus- 
ters. They are also lateral or terminal.^ as they occupy the 
sides or ends of the branches or spurs on which they are 
produced. The ordinary position of the fruit buds of dif- 
ferent classes of trees will be understood from the preced- 
ing descriptions of fruit branches. 




Fio. 20. 
Fig. 20, flower of the cherry, showing the product of 
a compound bud. 



LEAVES. 



21 



Section 5. — Leaves. 



1st. Striccticre and Functions of Leaves. — Tlie leaves of 
all hardy fruit trees cultivated in our climate are decidu- 
ous, that is — they decay and fall in the autumn and are 
succeeded by others on the return of sj)ring. The offices 
they perform during the growing season are of the high- 
est importance to the life and health of the tree, and 
deserve the most attentive consideration. 

A leaf (fig. 21) is 
composed of two prin- 
cipal parts, the leaf 
stalk or petiole {A\ 
which connects it with 
the tree or branch on 
wliich it is borne, and 
the expanded part (J., 
-5, 2>), called the hlaJe. 
The hase is the end (6') 
attached to the stalk, 
and the a^ex or point 
{JD) the opposite one. 
The length is the dis- 
tance from the base to 
the point (6^ to Z>), and 
the ividth^ a line cut- 
ting the length at rigLt 
angles, and extending 
from margin to margin 
{A to B). 

The leaf stalk and 
its branches, forming 
the nerves or veins of 
the blade, are composed of woody vessels in the form of 




Fig. 21. 

Fig. 21, a leaf of the pear. A. the petiole or 
leaf stalk. A, B, D, the blade. C, the base. 
D, the point. Line Jl, B. the width. 



22 GENERAL PEmCIPLES. 

a tube, similar to tlie woody parts of the tree or branch 
that bears it, inside of which is a pith, similar to the pith 
of the tree ; the leaf is thus connected with the 23ith and 
wood of the shoot, and consequently the ascending sap, 
as we may readily see, by making a vertical cut through 
the leaf stalk and shoot. The veins of the leaf are filled 
up with a cellular substance similar to the pith, called 
parencJiyma^ and the wdiole is covered with a thin skin 
(epidermis). This cellular substance is connected with 
the inner bark, and consequently the descending sap or 
cambium, that forms the new layers of wood. Both sur 
faces of the leaf are furnished with small pores, through 
which exhalation and absorption are carried on. Absorp- 
tion is performed principally by the pores of the under 
surface, and they are the largest ; exhalation principally 
by those of the upper surface. 

This property of the leaves to receive and give out air 
and moisture through the pores on their surface, has 
caused them to be likened to the lungs of animals, and 
this comparison is to some extent correct ; for we know 
that without leaves, or organs performing their offices, 
trees do not grow. And in proportion to their natural 
and Ileal thy action, do we find the vigor and growth of 
the tree. 

To prove that leaves have the power, in a greater or 
less degree, to absorb fluids, we have but to apj^ly water 
to the drooping foliage of a plant suffering from drought, 
and see how quickly it becomes refreshed. Dews of a 
single night, we know, too, will revive plants that the heat 
and drought of the previous day had prostrated ; and 
even if we put a flagging plant in a damp atmosphere, it 
recovers. Even the leaves of a boquet can be kept fresh 
for a long time by sprinkling them with w^ater. 

That plants exhale moisture and gases cannot be doubt- 
ed. It is this very exhaling process that causes plants 



LEAVES. 23 

to wilt under a hot sun or in a dry atinospliere. Plants 
that are transjjlanted with their foliage on, as annuals are 
in the spring or summer, will wilt and even die if ex- 
posed to the air and sun ; but if transplanted in a moist 
day, or covered, so that evaporation cannot take place, 
the plant does not appear to feel the removal. So with 
cuttings of many plants thus propagated ; if jjlaced in 
the earth w^itli a certain amount of foliage on, and left 
uncovered, they will immediately die ; but when we place 
a bell glass or a hand glass over them to prevent evapo- 
ration, they remain as fresh as though they had roots 
supplying them with moisture from the soil. It is on this 
account that transplanted trees so often die when the 
branches and shoots are not in proportion to the roots. 
In transplanting, a portion of the roots are destroyed, 
and all are more or less deranged, so that their functions 
are feebly performed for some time after planting. If all 
the branches and shoots are left on, they will, as usual, 
produce leaves, but the absorption at the roots being so 
much less than the exhalation of the leaves, the juices 
contained in the tree, previously laid up, soon become ex- 
hausted, the leaves droop and wither, and the whole fabric 
perishes. In budding, too, if the whole leaf were left 
attached, the evaporation would be so great as to kill the 
bud ; hence we remove all but a portion of the stalk. 

A tree can neither mature its wood nor its fruit without 
the full and healthv exercise of the leaves. If in the otow- 
ing season, a tree is deprived of its foliage by blight, 
insects, <fec., we see that growth is entirely suspended for 
a time, until new leaves are developed ; and if the leaves 
be removed from a tree bearing fruit, we see the fruit 
shrivel and dry up, or ripen prematurely and become 
worthless. These facts, and many others that might be 
cited, show the intimate connection existing between the 
leaves and the other organs of trees, and the influence 



24 GENEKAL PEINCIPLES. 

tliej liave on their growth and productiveness. It is be- 
lieved that the opening of the leaf bnds in spring induces 
the formation of new roots ; this is donbtful, as new roots 
may be seen forming at times when there are no leaves 
on the tree and apparently no growth whatever going on 
in the buds. Bnt if the roots are not roused into action 
by the leaves, it is well known they will not continue and 
grow long if leaves do not make their appearance. We 
observe in the case of trees the tops of which have been so 
much injured by drying and exposure that scarcely a sound 
bud is left to grow, in this case the roots, although in 
perfect order, remain nearly dormant until new shoots and 
leaves are produced, and in proportion as the leaves in- 
crease so do the roots. The fact of the absorption and 
exhalation by leaves of cei'tain fluids, has, to a very con- 
siderable extent, established the theory that the sap of trees 
is taken up from the roots through the cells or sap vessels 
of the wood of the trunk and branches in a crude state^ 
and passes into the leaves ; that in their tissue spread out 
under the sun's rays, it receives certain modifications. 
Carbonic acid, which has been taken in a state of solution 
from the soil and by the leaves from the atmosphere, is 
decomposed, its oxygen is given off into the air, carbon 
becomes fixed, and thus the component parts of the tree, 
starch, sugar, gum, &c., are formed. After passing 
through this purifying or concentrating process, the sap 
acquires a more solid consistence, and is called camhium / 
so j^repared it returns downwards through the nerves or 
vessels of the leaf to the base of the leaf stalk, and then 
between the wood and bark of the stem, forming new 
layers on its passage. Such is, at present, the most poj^u- 
Icir theory of the functions of the leaves and the ascent, 
assimilation, and descent of the sap. Some distinguished 
writers on the subject reject this theory, alleging that — 
" there is no such thing as crude sap, that as soon as it 



LEAVES. 



enters the routs it becomes assimilated and fit for the pro- 
duction of new cells, and that it passes upwards, forming 
new wood or cells by a chemical process."^ Observation, 
however, has clearly established that in the leaves of 
healthy trees chemical processes depending on light and 
heat, and absolutely essential to the w^ell-being of the tree, 
are continually going on, for trees shut out from the light 
always make a feeble growth and have a blanched and 
sickly hue, compared with the same species in the free 
air and exposed to the rays of the sun. If one side or 
portion of a tree is shaded or deprived of its full share of 
light, it ceases to grow in its natural way, and the shoots 
are lean, slender, and imperfect. 

2d. Different Forms and Characters of Leaves. — ^The 
different sizes and forms of the leaves of fruit trees, the 
divisions of their edges, the absence or presence of glands, 
the smoothness or roughness of their surfaces, are all 
more or less serviceable in describing and identifying 
varieties. 

The terms designating forms are seldom mathema- 
tically correct, but merely made by comparison, for in- 
stance — 
Oval (fig. 22), when about twice as long as broad, and 

nearly of equal width at both ends. 
Ohlong (fig. 23), three times or more, as long as broad, 

and differing but little in w^idth in any part. 
Lance Shaped (fig. 24), lanceolate, when three or more 
times as long as broad, and tapering gradually to a 
sharp point. 
Ovate (fig. 25), when twice as long as broad, tapering to 

the apex, and widest towards the base. 
Ohovate (fig. 26), the inverse of ovate, the greatest dia- 
meter being in the upper part. 

* Schleiden's Principles of Botanv 



26 



GENEKAIi PRINCIPLES. 



Itound^ roundish^ as tliey approach a circular form like 
fig. 21. The point is often a distinguishing feature, 
some terminating suddenly in a sharp point, others 
drawn out to a long, sharp point, peaked^ whilst 
others are nearly round. They differ much, too, in 
the form of the base, some are rounded, some sharp, 
and some heart-shaped. 




-F;g-s. 22 to 26, forms of leaves. 22, oval. 23, oblong. 24, lanceolate. 25, ovate. 2G, 
obovate. 

The divisions of the edges are serrated or toothed^ when 
the edges are cut into sharp teeth, directed towards the 
point of the leaf; findy (fig. 27) or coarsely (fig. 28) ser- 
rate^ as these teeth are fine or coarse; doubly serrate^ 
when the principal division or tooth is subdivided. 
Orenate (fig. 29), when the divisions are rounded, instead 
of being sharp like teeth. 



LEAVES. 



2r 



Lobed^ when deeply cut, and the penetrating angle 
large, as in the cnrrant, gooseberry, grape, &c. 
(Fig. 30). 




Fig. 27, a leaf, folded, reflexeJ, and finely serrated or toothed. Fig. 28, coarsely 
serrated. Fig. 29, crenate. 

Fla% when the snr- 
face is even 
(fig. 21). 

Folded^ when the 
edges are turn- 
ed inward (fig. 
27). 

Re flexed^ when the 
apex or j^oint 
turns back- 
wards, giving 
the leaf more 
or less the form 
of a ring (27). 
FiQ. 30. Waved^ wrinkled^ 

Fig. 30, a leaf of the currant, lobed. STtlOOtJl^ rOUg\ 




28 



GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 



etc., are all terms used, but well enougli mider- 
stood. 
The leaf stalk has often striking peculiarities in certain 
varieties, such as unusually long^ stout^ sliort^ or slender. 
There are also glands on the leaf-stalk, close to the base, 
and in certain cases on the leaf itself, that are chiefly taken 
notice of in identifying varieties of the peach and necta- 
rine ; these differ in 
shajDC too, being globu- 
lar (as in fig. 31), reni- 
form or Tcidney-slia^ed 
(fig. 32); these little 
glands are supposed to 
be, and no doubt are, or- 
gans of secretion. 

These are all interest- 
ing items in the study of 
the beautiful and almost 
endless variety of forms which the different classes of 
fruit trees, and even different varieties of the same class, 
exhibit in their foliage. 





Fig. 31. 

Fig. 31. a leaf of the 
peach With globular 
glands. 



Fig. 32. 

Fig. 32, the same; 
with reniform or kid- 
ney-shaped glands. 



Section 6. — Flowers. 



1st. Different Parts of Flowers. — Flowers are the 
principal reproductive organs of trees, and consist of floral 
envelopes, the calyx and corolla ; and of sexual organs, 
stamens and pistils. 

The Calyx (J., fig. 35) is the outer covering, and is 
usually green like the leaves. The corolla (A, fig. 33) is 
within the calyx^ and is the colored, showy part of the 
flower ; its divisions are called ^e^aZ^. 

Stamens (fig. 34) are the male organs of plants. They 
are delicate, thread-like productions (^, fig. 34) in the cen- 
tre of the flower, supporting on their extremities the anthers 



1FL0WEKS. 



29 




Figs. 33 to 35 —Different parts of a flower. Fig. 33, A, the 
petals. 34, a stamen, ^, filament or stalk. B, anther. C, pollen. 
36, the calyx, ovary, pistil united. B, ovary. C, style. D, stigma. 



{B, %. 34). Tlie pistil {C, D, fig. 35) is the female organ 
and stands in the centre of the stamens. It consists of 
the ovary 
at its base 
(5,%. 35), 
which con- 
tains the 
seeds. The 
style {O, fig. 
35) is the 
erect por- 
tion, and 
the stigma 
(7>,fig. 35) 
is the small 
glandnlous 
body on its 

summit that receives the fertilizing powder (pollen) {0, fig. 
34) from the anthers. 

Flowers may be deficient in any of these organs except 
the ovary, antliers, and stigma. These are indispensable 
to fructification, and must be present in some form or other 
or the flowers will be barren. 

2d. Sexual Distinctions. — ^The fact that the two sexes 
or sexual organs, the stamens and jpistils.^ are in certain 
species united on the same flower, and in others on dif- 
ferent flowers, and even on diflerent trees, has created 
the necessity for the following distinctions : 

Trees or plants are called hermapJirodite (as in fig. 33) 
w^hen both stamens and pistils are present on the same 
flower. N^early all our cultivated fruits are of this class. 
Monmcious, w^hen the male and female flowers are borne 
on the same tree, as in the filbert flower (fig. 36, ^, the 
male, and j5, the female flowers). Diaicioiis, when the 
male flowers (fig. 37) are on one plant, and the female 



30 



GENEEAL PEINCIPLES. 



(fig. 38) on another. The most familiar instance among 
plants cultivated for their fruits, is the strawberry. In 
many varieties we 
find the stamens or 
male organs so in- 
completely devel- 
oped (fig. 38) that 
they are of no ser- 
vice in fructifying 
the flowers, and 
hence we plant near 
them varieties with 
of these organs strongly exhibited. 





Fig. 37. 

Fig. 37, male or 
staminate flower of 
the strawberry. 

m abundance 



Fig. 36. 

flower of the fil- 




FiG. 38. 
Fig. 38, female 
or pistillate flow- 
er. 



3d. Im2?Tegnation. — 
The process of im- 
pregnation is effected 
in this way : When the flowers first open, 
the pollen granules or powder in the anthers, 
is covered over by a delicate membrane. 
Li a short time this membrane bursts in a manner similar 
to an explosion that scatters the pollen by its force, so 
that it reaches the stigma of the pistil ; this is composed of 
glutinous or sticky secretions to which the pollen adheres ; 
there it forms new cells that expand into tubes ; these 
tubes penetrate through the style of the pistil to the ovary, 
where the impregnation takes place, and new cells are 
immediately formed into an embryo plant. 

This impregnation is sometimes, from certain causes, 
only partially efiected in the cases of fruit where the ova- 
ry or seed vessel is composed of several cells, as in the 
apple, pear, &c., and hence the fruit takes an imperfect, 
one-sided development from the beginning. 

Tlie difficulty that appears to arise in the way of the 
impregnation of the stigma of one flower by the pollen of 



FLOWERS. 31 

anotlier, distantly situated, either on the same plant as in 
monoecious trees, or on a different plant as in dioecious, is 
wonderfully obviated by the provision that nature has 
made for its transmission, not only by the atmosphere, 
but by insects, that pass from one flower to another feed- 
ing on their honied secretions ; the pollen adheres to them 
and they carry it from one to another. 

All natural flowers of the same species present the 
same number of petals in their flowers, but occasionally 
the stamens are converted into petals, and thus what are 
called double flowers are produced. Among fruit trees we 
have double flowering aj^ples, plums, peaches, and cherries. 
These seldom produce fruit ; when perfectly double never. 
All our double flowers, roses, paeonies, dahlias, &c., have 
been obtained by this transformation of the stamens into 
petals. It is supposed to be caused by an excessively 
high cultivation given to the plants that produce the 
seeds from which these double varieties sj^ring. 

4. Period of Blossoming. — In treating of fruit buds 
allusion has been made to the causes which, according to 
observation and experience, promote fruitfulness. These 
are chiefly a slow or moderate growth, and a branching 
or spreading, constrained form, instead of an upright one. 
Some species of trees bloom at a much earlier age than 
others. Thus the peach, the apricot, and the cherry will 
bloom in nearly one-fourth less time from the bud, all 
things being erpial, tlian the pear. Some species bloom 
at an earlier period of the season than others ; the apricot 
and the peach bloom very early, and this is the chief rea- 
son why the crop is so often destroyed in localities subject 
to late spring frosts. Among fruits even of the same spe- 
cies there is much difference in the period of blooming : 
one variety of apple being nearly two weeks later than 
another. This, in some sections, is an important quality, 
where every day the blossom is retarded renders the crop 



32 GENERAL PEDsCIPLES. 

surer, being more likely to escape frost. These differences 
are caused by various circumstances. 

1st. The Climate: — 'The period of blossoming of the same 
species varies much in different localities. Bocbester is 
at least a week earlier tlian Buffalo, although the distance 
is less than one hundred miles ; and it is nearly two 
weeks earlier than Toronto, which is still nearer. The 
large bodies of ice in the lakes, at both Buffalo and Toron- 
to, have no doubt a considerable effect in retarding the 
blossoming period. 

2d. The Season and Position. — In the same locality, 
one season is frequently a week earlier than others, and 
trees on the south side of a wall or building will expand 
their blossoms several days before the same variety in the 
open ground only a few rods distant, and ten days to a 
fortnight before those on a north wall. 

3d. The Soil. — On warm and light soils, the roots of 
trees are excited into activity much sooner than in cold, 
damp, and heavy soils, and the blossoming period is ear- 
lier in consequence. 

The Different Character of Flo^mrs. — ^Flowers vary in 
size.^ fat'm^ color ^ and other qualities, even in the same spe- 
cies. In the peach those distinctions are so obvious, that 
one of the principal classifications of pomologists is found- 
ed on them. Thus thei*e are varieties with large^ showy 

flowers (fig. 39), as the serrate 
early Yoi'lc^ and small (fig. 40) 
as large early Yorh., Craw- 
ford Early., etc. The color 
also presents variations, some 
being deep^ otliere ^mZ^ rose, 
i^"^- 39- Fig. 40. ^j^(j gome almost white / two 

Fig. 39, large flower of the peach. ^j, three VaHctieS of the 

Pig. '^Q, small flower of the peach. t i n in 

peach have nowers wholly 
white, as the snow.^ for instance. In all the other fruits, 




flowt:es. 33 

a 3 in apples^ pears^ plums^ cherries^ &c., the flowers vary 
but slightly in form and color, and the dift'erences are only 
taken note of in very full and minute scientific descrip- 
tions. A few cases, however, are well marked, as the 
Jargonelle pear, the flowers of which are nearly twice as 
large as most others. 

In connection with the flowers it may be proper to ex- 
plain the important process of 

Hybridization. — ^This is performed by fertilizing the 
pistil of one species or variety with pollen from the 
stamens of another. The seeds produced by the flower so 
impregnated will produce a cross or hybrid between the 
two parents. This process is now well understood, and is 
earned on to a wonderful extent, especially in the pro- 
duction of new flowers. Comparatively few of our popu- 
lar fruits have been produced in this way. A few good 
soi-ts have been produced by the late Mr, Knight, a dis- 
tinguished English ex|)erimentalist, who eflected much in 
his time towards establishing many diflScult and disputed 
points in vegetable physiology. E'early all the native 
fruits of this country are accidental hybrids. A vast deal 
may be done to improve, in this way, all our fruits. 
The size, hardiness, and productiveness of one variety 
may be combined with the delicacy of texture and flavor 
of another, and endless variations and improvements may 
be effected. To obtain a true hybrid certain precautions 
are necessary. The two subjects selected must flower at 
the same time. The stamens must be carefully removed 
from the one intended for the mother, without injury to 
the stigma. It must also be guarded from accidental im- 
pregnation by other varieties, and the j^oHen from the 
selected male be applied at the proj)er moment, that is, 
when it bursts from the anther. Hybridization is only 
possible between species closely related^ for although there 
is a relation between the apple and the j9^<2r, and between 



d4 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

the gooseberry and the currant^ they will not hybridize ; 
bnt diiferent varieties of the apple will hybridize with 
each other, and so with all the rest. 

Blossoming in Alternate Years. — Many varieties of 
apple, pears, &c., fruits that take the whole season to 
mature, produce flowers in alternate years only, with 
great regularity. The reason is supposed to be this: 
The fruit during the bearing year, attracts a large quantity 
of the ascending sap of the tree in the same way as the 
leaves do; but instead of returning it to the tree, they 
consume it themselves. The consequence is, the buds 
that would have blossomed the following year if they had 
received their due share of nutriment, fail in attaining 
the proper condition, and produce only rosettes of leaves. 
During the unfruitful season, immense quantities of fruit- 
buds are again brought forward, and the year following, 
the tree is overloaded; so it proceeds in regular succes- 
sion. 

This is never experienced in trees regularly pruned, and 
may be remedied by thinning out the crop in bearing 
years, leaving on but a reasonable amount that will not 
exhaust the tree. The bearing years have been completely 
reversed by removing the blossom-buds or fruits on the 
bearing year. 

Section 7. — The Fetjit. 

1st. CJiaracter of tlie Fruit. — As soon as the ovary is 
impregnated it begins to swell ; the petals, stamens, and 
other jDarts of the flower fall oif, and we then say the fruit 
is " setP As a fruit bud is but a transformed leaf-bud, a 
fruit occupies the same relative connection with the tree 
as a branch; it attracts food from the stem and the 
atmosphere in the same manner, and performs all the 
same functions, except that it does not, like the leaf. 



THE FRUIT. S5 

return anjtliing to the tree, but ap23ro2:>riates all to its own 
use ; and this is the reason, as we have before remarked, 
that trees having borne a heavy crop of fruit one season 
are unfruitful the next — this is the case only with fruits, 
as the apple and pear, that require nearly the whole sea- 
son to mature them. Cherries, and other fruits that 
mature in a shorter period, and that draw^ more lightly on 
the juices of the tree, do not produce this exhaustion, and 
consequently bear year after year uninterruptedly. 

2d. Classification. — In some fruits, as the apple for in- 
stance, the fruit is formed heloiu or at the base of the 
calyx, the segments of which are still visible in the 
mature fruit ; and often serves to some extent by its size 
and other peculiarities, as being spread out, or closed to- 
gether in a point, to identify varieties. In other species, 
as the plum and cherry, the fruit is formed within the 
calyx, or on the top of it. Fruits of the former character 
forming below the calyx and includino; it in their struc- 
ture are classed as inferior — the a2)j)le-^ pear.^ quince^ 
gooseberry.^ and currant are all inferior, having the calyx 
adhering. 

Those formed within the calyx, having the pistil alone 
connected with the ovary, are called sitjperior j such are the 
peacli.^ ])l'^^^^-> (iJ>^'^<^ot'^ nectarine^ clierry., raspherry., stra/w- 
herry., and graj^e. 

The more natural, popular, and useful classification of 
fruits, is that by which they are divided into 
Pomes or Kernel Fruits., as the ajyple^ pear., quince., med- 
lar., etc. In speaking of these we call the i^ericarp 
ih^flesli., and tlie dry, bony seed capsules the core. 
Drupes or Stone Fruits. — Those having a soft, pulpy 
pericarp, and the seed enclosed in a shell like a nut, 
as the peach., plum., apricot., cherry., etc. The peri- 
carp of these is called the fleshy and the seed, the pit 
or stone 



36 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Berries. — ^These have soft, pulpy flesh, containing seeds 

without capsules, as the gooseberry.^ currant.^ rasjpberry.^ 

strawberry.^ and grape. 

Nuts^ or capsule fruit, as the filhert., cJiestniit^ etc., the 

fruits of which are nuts contained in husks or cups, 

that when ripe, open and let the fruit drop. 

The outlines or forms of fruits and their colors exhibit 

great variations, even in the same species. Every portion 

of the fruit, the sldn.^ flesTi (6^, fig. 41), core (Z>, fig. 41), 

seeds {E) or stones-) 
stems (^), and in ker- 
nel fruits the ciyx 
(^), have all, in some 
cases, marked peculi- 
arities, and in others 
more minute and 
scarcely perceptible ; 
but yet in a strictly 
scientific study of po- 
mology, of more or 
less ser^ace. It would 
be foreign to the ]3UT- 
poses of this work to 
notice these j^oints in detail ; all that is deemed necessary, 
useful, or appropriate, is to point out well-defined and 
practical distinctions, and the teiTQS ordinarily made use 
of in popular descriptions. 

3d. Different Parts of the Fruit: 
Tlie Base (^) is the end in which the stem is inserted. 
The Eye {B) is the opposite end, in the apple, pear, etc., 

that have an adhering calyx. 
The JVecJc^ in pears, the contracted part near the stalk, as 

seen in fig. 49. 
The Point is the end opposite the stem in stone fruits ; 




F'g. 41, vertical section < f an apple, sli owing 
Its different parts. .3, the base. B, the eye. 
C, the flesh. JD, the core. E, the seed. A, stem. 
B, calyx. 



THE FRrrr. 3Y 

berries, etc., that have no calyx, and consequently no 
eye. 
The Length is the distance from stem to point or eye, 

A to B, fig. 41. 
The Width^ the line D E- — cntting the fruit across, or at 

right angles with the length. 
The Basin^ the depression around the eye or calyx in 

kernel fruit, B^ fig. 41. 
TJie Cavity^ the depression around the stem. 
The Suture^ in stone fruits the furrow-like depression run- 
ning from the base to the point. 
4th. Different Properties of Fruits : 
Besides the principal divisions which have been alluded 
to, fruits are considered in regard to their size^ color^ 
form.^ texture^ flavor^ and season of ri])ening. 

1st. The Size. — Besides the natural difference in size 
that exists among different A^arieties of the same species, 
as, for instance, between the Bartlett and Seckel Pears, or 
the Fall Pijopin and Lady Apples^ there are great dif- 
ferences between the same varieties owing chiefly to the 
following circumstances : Soil — ^We find that in new 
and fresh soils, the nutritive properties of which have not 
been impaired by cultivation, as in the virgin soils of the 
"West, fruit of the same variety attains nearly doioble the 
size that it does in older parts of the country, where the 
soil has long been under cultivation ; and that in the same 
orchard, the tree growing in a deep, alluvial soil, will give 
fruit much larger than the one on a hard gravelly knoll. 
Culture — This has an important influence on the size of 
fruits. If an orchard has been for several years neglected, 
and the ground about the trees become covered with grass 
and weeds, the fruit is small ; and if the same orchard be 
ploughed up, some manure tm-ned in around the roots, 
and the ground be kept loose and clean by tillage, the 
fruit will double in size in a single season. Seaso?is — In 



38 GENEEAL PRINCIPLES. 

a dry season, when the supply of moisture at the roots 
and in the atmosphere is very limited, fruits are invari- 
ably smaller than in seasons of an opposite character. 
jS'umher of fruits on the tree — This affects the size of the 
fruit to a great extent in all seasons, soils, and climates, 
and under all grades of culture. 

It is perfectly obvious, that the greater the number of 
fruits a tree bears, the smaller they will be, for as they 
derive their sustenance from the tree, a large number 
cannot be so wxll supplied as a smaller number. We 
cannot go into an orchard w^here there are many varieties 
without seeing an illustration of this. Here is a prolific 
variety loaded in every part ; the fruits are small, cer- 
tainly not over medium size. There is a moderate bearer ; 
its fruits are thinly and evenly distributed over the tree ; 
its fruits are consequently large. So in the case of fruits 
that have been thinned ; that is, a certain portion removed 
while young, either by accidental circumstances or by 
design, every specimen is twice as large, as if the whole 
crop had been allowed to mature. The English goose- 
berry growers.^ in prej^aring their prize specimens, leave 
but a few on each bush — not over a twentieth, or perhaps 
a fiftieth part of the entire crop. So in peaches, grapes, 
etc., grown carefully in houses. Where the size and 
beauty of the fruit, and the health and vigor of the trees 
are kept in view, a large portion of the crops, from one 
half to two thirds, is thinned out before maturity. Age 
of tlie trees — ^This influences the size of fruits to a great 
extent; we see fruit so large on young trees as to be 
entirely out of character : As trees grow older, the vigor 
decreases, and the number of fruits increase, and they are 
consequently diminished in size. The kind of stock has a 
tendency to modify the size ; thus we find many pears 
much larger on the Quince stock than on tlie pear, and 
many apples larger on the Paradise than on the common 



TIIE FEUIT. 6\) 

ap2)le stock. The reason of tliis is, no donbt, that on the 
quince and ^^aradise the juices of the tree are better pre- 
pared, richer, and better suited to the growth of the fruit. 
In the common pear and apple stocks the sap is taken uj) 
in greater quantities, is watery, and better adapted to form 
wood than fruit. 

CLASSIFICATION OF SIZE. 

The terms qualifying the sizes of fruits are always given 
comparatively, in regard to the tw^o extremes, the largest 
and the smallest of the species ; for instance — in apples, 
w^e may consider the Gloria Mundi and Twenty Ounce 
as extremely large^ and the Lady apple as extremely small. 
The terms used, therefore, are such as to represent the 
various grades between the two extremes. These are 
Very large., as the Gloria Mimdi Apj^le, Diichesse d^An- 
goideme Pear, Orawford^s Early Peach, Yellow Egg 
Plum, and Napoleon Bigarreaib Cherry. 
Large., as the Baldwin Apple, Bartlett Pear, Red Cheeh 
Melocoton Peach, Washington Plum, and Black Eagle 
Cherry. 
Medium., as the Baniho Apple, White Doyenne Pear, 
Imperial Gage Plum, and the American Amber 
Cherry. 
Small^ as the Early Strawberry Apple, Dearborn^ s Seed- 
ling Pear, Green Gage Plum, and Bauman^s May 
Cherry. 
Very Small., as the Amire Johannet Pear, Lady Apple^ 
Winter Damson Plum, and the Lndulle {Early May) 
Cherry. 
The distance between some of these grades, as be- 
tween medium and large, &c., is so short that they are 
frequently confounded ; still they give a notion of com- 
parative size that answers all practical purposes. It 



40 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

would, perhaps, have been more accurate, and, at the 
same time, more satisfactory to persons entirely un- 
acquainted with fruits to have given the comparative 
measurement of these different grades in inches and parts ; 
but the varieties quoted as examj^les are common, and 
very generally known. 

2d. Form. — ^It is exceedingly difficult, even impossible, 
to find any single term that will give a mathematically 
accurate notion of the forms of fruits ; for although we 
call an apple round or conical, it may not be, strictly 
speaking, either ; perhaps partakes to some extent of 
both forms. But that is no reason why we should desig- 
nate it conical round : we simply call it round ^ or roundish^ 
if nearer round than any other form ; and if it inclines 
slightly to the conical, we cannot so well convey the 
knowledge of that fact any other way as by simply say- 
ing so. 

In the apple the round form j)revails, and in the pear 
the pyramidal ; hence, it is necessary to apply a different 
class of descriptive terms to each. 

FOKMS OF APPLES. 

Bound or Roundisli (fig. 42). — When the outline is 

round, or nearly so, the length being about equal 

to the breadth. 
Flat (fig. 45). — -When the ends are compressed, and the 

width considerably greater than the length. 
Conical (fig. 43). — In the form of a cone, tapering from 

the base to the eye. 
0\)ate^ or egg-shajped (fig. 44). 
Ohlong (fig. 46). — When the length is considerably greater 

than the width, and the width about equal at both 

ends, not tapering as in the conical. 



THE FEurr. 



41 



In addition to these forms and their varions modifi- 
cations, some varieties are 




F^gs. 4-i to 47, forms of apples. 42, round. 43, conical. 44, ovate. 45, flat. 
46, oblong. 47, ribbed. 

Angula7\ having projecting angles on the sides. 
One-sided^ having one side larger than the other. 
Hibhed (4:7), when the snrface presents a series of ridges 
and furrows running from eye to stem. 



FOEMS OF PEAES. 



It has been remarked that the pyramidal form prevails 

in pears ; but they taper from the eye to the stem, which 

is just the reverse of the tapering form in apples. Their 

forms are designated thus — 

Pyriform. — When taj)ering from the eye to the base, and 
the sides more or less hollowed (concave) (fig. 48). 

Long Pyriforrri. — ^When long and narrow, and tapering to 
a point at the stem (fig. 49). 

Obtuse Pyriform. — When the small end is somewhat flat- 
tened (fig. 50). 

Olovate or egg-shajped. — Kearly in form of an ^^g^ the 
small end being nearest the stem (fig. 51). 



42 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Turlinate or to])-sliaped. — ^Tlie sides somewhat rounded, 
and tapering to a point at the stem (fig. 52). 




Figs. 48 to 54, forms of pears 48, pyriform. 49, long pyriform. 60, obtuse 
pyriform. 51, obovate. 52, turbinate. 53, oval. 54, round. 

Oval. — Largest in the middle, tapering more or less to 

each end (fig. 53). 
Bound. — ^A¥hen the outline is nearly round (fig. 54). 

FORMS OF PEACHES. 

Tb.ere is too much uniformity in the forms of peaches 
to render the adoption of any set of terms descriptive of 
them very serviceable. They are mostly round, occasion- 
ally approaching to obloiig and ovcd; two sides are fre- 
quently compressed, flattened, exhibiting a suture or fur- 
row running from the point to the base : the width, 
depth, &c., of this suture are, in many cases, peculiar, or 
at least worthy of note. 



FORMS OF PLUMS. 



Plums are round^ oval^ or ohlong^ as the peach, 
and marked, in some cases, by a similar flattening of the 
sides, and by the suture. 



THE FRUIT. 43 



FORMS OF CHERRIES. 



Cherries are round or Tieart-sliwpecl ; obtuse heart-sTiaped^ 
when too round to be fully lieart-shaped ; and pointed., 
when the point is more than ordinarily sharp or peaked. 
The suture is also taken note of as in plums and j^eaches. 
Gooseberries and Grapes are always round or oval. Our- 
rcmts always round. Strawberries round, conical, or oval, 
sometimes with a neck ; that is, the base is drawn out at 
the stem in the form of a narrow neck. Raspberries are 
conical, roundish, or long. 

3d. Color. — The color of fruits depends much on their 
exposure to the sun's rays. We find that in orchard trees, 
where the heads are dense, and a large portion of the 
fruit shaded and shut out from the sun, there is a great 
difference in the color ; indeed, so great, frequently, as to 
make their identity from appearance quite doubtful. 
Varieties that are naturally — when properly exposed to 
the sun — of a bright red or a glowing crimson, remain 
green in the shade. The climate, too, seems to have con- 
siderable effect on the color. As a general thing, we 
observe that northern apples are clearer and brighter 
colored than those of the south. 

Dry soils and elevated situations produce more highly- 
colored fruit than damp and low valleys. The terms 
used in describing colors, are all simple and w^ell under- 
stood. 

4th. Flavor., in table fruits, is one of the most impor- 
tant of qualities ; for however large or fair a fruit may 
be, if insipid or astringent to an unpleasant degree, or if 
it possesses some other disagreeable quality, it is unfit for 
the table. There are various kinds of flavor even among 
varieties of the same species : in pears, particularly, it is 
almost endless, the shades and degrees of sweet and acid^ 



44 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

and the various perfumes tliat mingle with these, are 
ahnost infinite. 

The same circumstances mentioned as favorable to high 
and brilliant coloring, are also favorable to the production 
of fine flavor. Liglit^ heat^ a dry soil^ and moderate 
growth^ seem to be all essential to fine flavor. On trees 
somewhat advanced in age, fruits are apt to be higher 
flavored than on young trees that have just commenced 
bearing, and in a dry than a wet season. The philosophy 
of all this is, that in a damp soil or season, or in a shaded 
situation, when trees are young and growing rapidly, the 
fruit receives more sap from the tree than can be pro- 
perly elaborated by the action of the sun and atmosphere 
on its surface, and, consequently, the sugary princij)le is 
produced in small quantities^ — the juice is watery, sour, 
or insipid, as the case may be. 

The various terms by which flavor is designated, such 
as sweety acid^ sub-acid^ sjyriglitly^ jperfuraed^ "imisky^ 
sj>icy^ &c., are all well understood. 

Section 8. — ^The Seed. 

The perfect seed contains the rudiments of a plant of 
the same nature as that which produced it. This rudi- 
ment of the new plant is called the embryo. It con- 
sists of three parts — the cotyledons {c c, fig. 55), which are 
the rudiments of the first pair of leaves ; these are the 
]:>arts that first make their appearance. The bases of 
these cotyledons are united, and send down the radicle 
{h\ or root^ and between them is a bud {a\ which sends 
up the stem, and is usually called the plumule. As soon 
as the seed is excited into germination by the heat and 
moisture of the earth, this radicle or root begins to pene- 
trate the soil, and the plumule ascends in an opposite di- 
rection ; and thus the growth of the tree goes forward 



THE SEED. 



45 




in the manner already described under the heading, 
Root, Stem, &c. 

It has been remarked that seed con- 
tains the rudiment of a plant similar to 
that on which it is produced ; but this 
needs some exj)lanation. In distinct 
sjpecies^ this will be true ; but the seeds 
of "Varieties that have been produced 
by culture and hybridizing, seldom or 
never reproduce exactly their like, 
hence the necessity for the various 
artificial methods of multiplication, 
such as grafting, budding, layering, 
&c. It is to these oj^erations that we 
are indebted for the preservation of 
varieties that were originated hun- 
dreds of years ago. 

Germination. — Heat and moistm-e, 
air, and the exclusion of light, are all 
necessary to the healthy and perfect 
germination of seeds. It may be well to consider, briefly, 
the part which each of these has to perform. 

1st. Moisture. — When seeds are sown in a time when 
the ground is parched, they will show no signs of germi- 
nation until it is, in some way or other, moistened. The 
quantity of moistm-e necessary to a seed depends on the 
natm-e of its covering and its size. A small seed, with a 
thin covering, will vegetate much sooner and with less 
moisture than a large seed, with a hard, bony covering. 
The moisture must, in the first place, soften the covering, 
penetrate to the mealy part of the seed, and j)i"epare it 
for the chemical changes necessary to convert it into food 
for the embryo plant. If apple or pear seeds be kept in 
a dry, warm room all winter, they will not be likely to 
vegetate the following spring, but if so^n w^ill probably 



Fig. 6.5. 
Fig. 55, germinating 
seed, tt, plumule. 6, 
radicle, c c, cotyledons. 



4:6 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

lie in the ground all summer, and possibly germinate tlie 
spring following. If cheny seeds are kejDt dry for any 
length of time, say two or three months, they will not 
germinate the season following ; and peaches and phims 
have actually to be in the ground all winter, under the 
action of frost, to insure their germination the S]3ring fol- 
lowing. Seeds will germinate much quicker w^hen freshly 
gathered than after they have dried, because heat, mois- 
ture, and air have easier access to them, and act more 
quickly on them. These facts, of which all are well 
aware, show the necessity for moisture and the nature of 
its influence. 

2d. Heat is the next most important element. Seeds do 
not grow in winter. We sow our apple, pear, peach, and 
plum seeds in November ; but they show no signs of ger- 
mination until a change of season. When the warmth of 
spring penetrates the soil, it reaches the seed, and, in con- 
nection with the moisture already imbibed, induces what 
we usually call fermentation. This chemical process ex- 
cites the vital energies of the germ, decomposes the 
mealy part of the seed, and prepares it for the temporary 
nutrition of the young plant. 

3d. Air. — Although seeds may have heat and moisture 
in the requisite proportions, still it has been proved by 
many experiments, that without air^ germination cannot 
take place. 

Practical cultivators are aware that seeds planted too 
deeply do not grow ; many kinds will lie buried in the 
ground for years without growing, and when turned up 
near the surface will germinate immediately. It is the 
oxygen of the air that constitutes its importance ; it pro- 
duces, by forming new combinations with the gases con- 
tained in the seed, that chemical process which converts 
the starch into sugar and gum, as we observe in ordinary 
cases of fermentation. 



THE SEED. 47 

4th. Exclusion of Light. — The manner in which self- 
sown seeds in the forest are covered with fallen and 
decaying foliage, plainly indicates that nature never 
intended the light to strike germinating seeds. A seed 
entirely exposed would be at one time saturated with 
moisture, and at another ]3arched with drought ; chemical 
changes would be alternately promoted and checked, 
until the vital principle would be destroyed, or so weaken- 
ed as to produce a feeble and worthless plant. The depth 
of the covering should always be regulated by the size of 
the seeds. Small and delicate seeds may be soTvm almost 
on the surface, whilst large ones may be imbedded to the 
depth of four or five inches. The small seed requires 
little moisture, and has but a feeble force to j)enetrate an 
earthy covering ; but the large requires much moistm^e, 
and has force enough to push its way up. 



CHAPTEK II. 

SOILS. 

Section 1. — Different Kinds of Soil. 

Soils are usually designated by terms expressive of the 
predominant material in their composition, thus we hear 
of sandy ^ loamy ^ gravelly^ clayey^ calcareous or chalky^ 
and alluvial soils. 

A sandy soil is that in which sand is the principal in- 
gredient. Such soil is usually quite defective. It is so 
porous that it parts almost instantaneously with moisture, 
and plants in it suffer from drought. All the soluble 
parts of manures are also quickly washed out of it, and 
hence it requires continual additions to produce even a 
scanty growth. The great point in improving it, is to 
render it more retentive by the addition of clay, ashes, 
&c. 

A clayey soil is that in which clay predominates. It 
may be considered the opj)Osite of sandy, inasmuch as its 
defects are, that it retains moisture too long, is too adhe- 
sive, in dry weather it becomes as hard as a burnt brick, 
impervious to dews or light showers, and w^hen thoroughly 
saturated with wet it is tough, and requires a long time 
to dry. No fruit tree succeeds well in such a soil ; but it 
is capable of being improved and fitted for many sj)ecies, 
and especially the plum and the pear. The obvious way to 
improve it is, by incorporating with it lighter porous soils, 
as sand, muck, or leaf mould. 



SOILS. 4i) 

A gravelly soil is one made u]) in greater part of small 
stones, pebbles, decomposed rock, &c. ; sucli soils, as a 
general thing, are nnfit for fruit trees, unless great labor 
is incurred in trenching, deepening, and mixing with 
clay, muck, ifec, of opposite characters. 

A loamy soil is one we hear a great deal about, and may 
l)e understood in various ways. It may be considered a 
mixture of ecpial parts of sandy, clayey, and vegetable soil. 
It is neither so light as the sandy, on the one hand, nor 
so tenacious as clay on the other ; and, as a general thing, 
contains such elements, and is of such a texture, as to ren- 
der it eligible for all ordinary purposes of cultivation, 
and especially so for fruit trees. Loamy soils are spoken 
of as sandy loa^ns^ when sand forms a large ingredient, 
say one half of their composition ; gravelly^ when pretty 
largely mixed with small stones ; calcareous^ when lime 
is found in them. 

Calcareous or chalky soils have a large amount of lime 
mixed with the other ingredients of which they are com- 
posed. All the lands in limestone districts are of this 
character, and, as a general thing, are well adapted to 
fruit culture. 

Peaty soil consists chiefly of vegetable mould from de- 
cayed marsh plants, in low, wet places. It is unfit, in 
itself, for fruit trees, but is valuable for improving both 
light and heavy soils. 

Alluvial soils are composed of decomjDosed vegeta- 
ble substances, the sediment of rivers, and materials 
washed down from neighboring hills ; the valleys of all 
our rivers and streams are composed of this, and it is the 
richest of all soils. Fruit trees in such soils make a rank, 
vigorous growth, but they are not so hardy nor so fruit- 
ful, nor is the fruit so high flavored as on soils with more 
sand, clay, or gravel, and less vegetable mould. 
3 



50 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

In treating of the different classes of fruits, we shall 
refer to the particular soils best adapted to them. 

Section 2. — Diefeiient Modes of Impeoving Soils. 

In regard to depth, soils vary materially, some being 
not over eight or ten inches in depth of surface, others a 
foot, while in deep alluvial valleys they are often two feet. 
For orchard and garden pm-poses, a deejp soil is quite 
essential to enable the roots to penetrate freely in search 
of food, and to enable them to withstand the demands of 
protracted droughts. Few soils in their ordinary condition 
of farm culture are, in this respect, suitable for trees. 
Even where naturally deep and loamy, if the upper part 
only (say to the dej^th of six inches, which is as deep as 
most people plough) be in a friable condition, it cannot 
be considered as in a proper state for the reception of 
trees, for their roots cannot be confined to six inches of the 
surface. Some means of loosening and deepening must 
be resorted to, and what are they ? 

1. SUBSOIL PLOUGHING. 

This is the cheapest and best method, where a large 
quantity of ground is to be prepared for extensive ]3lant- 
ing. The common plough goes first, and takes as deep a 
furrow, as practicable. The subsoiler follows in the same 
fuiTOW and loosens, without turning up, the lower part 
of the surface and a part of the subsoil. Exce23t in cases 
where the subsoil is a very stiff clay or a hard gravel 
and near the surface, the two ploughs can go to the depth 
of eighteen or twenty inches. This is our mode of pre- 
paring nursery grounds. If a single ploughing in this 
way does not accomplish the desired end, a second may 
be given, going down still deeper. 



SOILS. 61 

We had a piece of soil the surface of which was about 
a foot deep of black vegetable mould, with a sliglit admix- 
ture of sand, resting on a stiff clay subsoil, which pre- 
vented the water from passing off. In this condition we 
found it entirely unfit for trees ; we subsoil ploughed it 
six or eight inches deep, turning up the clay subsoil and 
mixing it with the surface ; we also drained it, and spread 
over the surface the clay that came out of the drains, and 
in this condition we find it producing the finest trees, 
especially apples, pears, and^plums. The soil is more 
substantial, and the surface w^ater passes off freely. 

2. TEENCHING. 

In gardens too limited in extent to admit of ploughs, or 
where it is desired to make the soil thorough and perma- 
nently deep, trenching is the means. 

The sjDade is the implement used in this operation. A 
trench two feet wide is opened on one side of the ground, 
and the earth taken out of it is carried to the oj)posite 
side. Another trench is opened, the surface spadeful be- 
ing thrown in the bottom, and the next lower on the top 
of that, and so on till it is opened the required depth, 
which, for a good fruit garden, should be about two feet. 
If the subsoil be poor and gravelly, it is better to loosen 
it up thoroughly with a pick, and let it remain, than to 
throw it out on the sm-face. When the whole plot is 
trenched over in this way, the earth taken out of the first 
trench will fill up the last one, and the work is done. If 
the soil be poor, a layer of well-decomposed manure may 
be added alternately with the layers of earth ; and if the 
soil be too light and sandy, clay, ashes, etc., can be added ; 
and if too heavy, sand, lime, muck, peat, scrapings of dead 
leaves from the woods, or any other material calculated to 
render it porous and friable. If a garden is thus trenched 



52 GENERAL PKINCIPLliy. 

in the fall or winter, and tlien turned over once in tlio 
spring to eiFect a thorongli mixture of all the materials, it 
will be in suitable order for planting. This is something 
like the way to prepare soil for a garden ; and let no one 
say it is too troublesome or too expensive, for in two 
years the extra pleasure and profit it will yield, will pay 
for all. I^othing is so expensive or so troublesome as an 
ill-prepared soil. 

3. DRAINING. 

There is a false notion very prevalent among people, 
that where water does not lodge on the surface of a soil, 
it is " dry enough." However this may be in regard to 
meadows or annual crops, it is quite erroneous when ap- 
plied to orchards or fruit gardens. Stagnant moisture 
either in the surface or subsoil is highly injurious — ^ruin- 
ous to fruit trees. In such situations we invariably find 
them unthrifty and unfruitful, the bark mossy, and the 
fruit imperfect and insipid. All the soils, then, not per- 
fectly free from stagnant moisture, both above and below, 
should be drained. In draining, it is, of course, neces- 
sary to have a fall or outlet for the water. Having se- 
lected this, the next point is to open the drains. We 
usually make them three feet deep, and wide enough to 
give sufficient room to work — say three feet wide at top, 
narrowing gradually to six inches at the bottom, which 
should be even and sloping enough to the outlet of the 
water to enable it to run. A laborer who understands 
draining, will make two rods of these in a day ; and 
good pipe-tile, two inches wide, can be had at the rate of 
about one cent per foot. Draining, therefore, is not 
so costly an operation as many suppose. 

Where draining tiles are not to be had conveniently, 
small stones may be used. The bottom of the drain 



SOILS. 53 

should be filled with them to the depth of eight or ten 
inches. Li using these, the drains require to be at least 
six inches deeper than for tiles, in order that a sufficient 
quantity of stones can be used without coming too near 
the surface. Some brush, or tmf, with the grassy side 
downwards, should be laid on the stones before filling in 
the earth, to keep it from filling up the crevices. 



CHAPTER III. 

MANURES. 

Section 1. — Importai^-ce of Manures. 

1^0 soil, whatever may be its original fertility, can sus- 
tain a heavy and continued vegetation for many years 
without becoming, to some extent, exhansted. Indeed, 
there are few people so fortunate, except those who settle 
upon new, uncultivated lands, as to procure a soil that does 
not need manuring to fit it for the first i)lanting with 
trees. It is, then, a matter of importance for every man 
who has more or less land to cultivate, to inform himself 
well on the subject of saving, preparing, and apj^lying 
manures. In this country, the only class of men, gene- 
rally speaking, who can be properly said to collect and 
manage manm^es with system and care, are nurserymen 
and market gardeners near our large towns. It is very 
seldom that people generally give the matter a thought 
until garden-making time comes around in the spring ; 
and then, anything in the form of manure is carried into 
the garden, and applied whether fit or unfit. This is not 
the proper course. 

Every garden should have its manure heap, that, in the 
fall or spring, when it comes to be applied, will cut like 
paste. In that state only is it safe to apply it. All parts 
of it are then decomposed thoroughly ; all seeds of 
noxious plants are dead, and it is in a condition capable 
of yielding at once, to the roots of growing plants, 



MANURES. 55 

healthy nntritlon, that will produce a xigorous^ firm^ 
sounds and fruitful growth; and this is precisely what is 
w^anted : far better to have a tree starved and stunted, 
than forced into a rank, plethoric growth, with crude, ill- 
prej)ared manures. 

Section 2. — Preparation of Manures. 

The best gardeners pursue a system something like 
this : A trench is prepared two or three feet deep, and 
large enough to hold w^hat manure may be wanted. In 
the bottom of this trench, a layer of muck, grassy tmf, 
ashes, anything and everything capable of being decom- 
posed, is laid down, say a foot deep. On the top of this, 
a thick layer of stable or barnyard manure, two or three 
feet deep, then another layer of muck, gypsum, etc. In 
this way it remains till more manure has accumulated 
around the stables ; it is then carried and dej^osited in 
another layer, with a layer of the other materials on the 
top. The manure should always be saturated w^th mois- 
ture, and trodden down firmly to hasten its decay, and if 
an occasional load of night soil could be mixed in with it all 
the better. The layer of muck and other substances 
being always placed on the top of the last layer of 
manure absorbs the evaporations of the heap, and hastens 
the decay of all. When stable manure is thrown down 
and left uncovered, a dense steam will be seen to rise 
from it ; and this is the very essence of it escaping to be 
lost, and if it be thrown down in a heap dry it will im- 
mediately burn — that is, dry rot. Its enriching ingre- 
dients all pass oif by evaporation, and there is nothing 
left but its ashes, so to speak. 

When the heap has accumulated for four or five 
months as described, the whole should be turned over, 
completely mixed, and piled up in a compact, firmly- 



56 GENERAL PRmCIPLES. 

trodden mass, when it will undergo farther decomposition, 
and, in a short time, become like ^paste. Adjoining every 
mannre heap, there should be an excavation to receive its 
liquid drainage, in order that it may be saved, and either 
applied in the growing season, in a liquid state, diluted 
with water, or be thrown over the heap. 

" Special manures" have been much talked of lately. • 
By the word " special," is meant a particular quantity, 
of a particular mixture, for certain species, and even for 
certain varieties of fruits. JS'early all the suggestions on 
the subject are speculative and unreliable. The subject 
is an important one, but we want direct and careful ex- 
periments. It is only when we know to a certainty what 
material certain trees need most of, and in what degree it 
abounds or is wanting in our soil, that we can apply it 
safely. The experience of farmers and gardeners, grain 
and fruit growers, all over the world, affords undoubted 
evidence of the enriching qualities of stable mamire. On 
all soils, and for all sorts of crops, it is an unfailing and 
powerful fertilizer ; and we make it the base of all our 
manure and compost heaps. By mixing with it the in- 
gredients wx have mentioned, we hasten its decay, save 
its parts from waste, and, at the same time, combine with 
it other substances that will not only enrich but improve 
the texture of soils, and increase the supply of the mine- 
ral substances required by plants. Dr. Daubney, a dis- 
tinguished TVTiter on the character and improvement of 
soils, etc., says, " Fortunately we are provided in the 
dung of animals with a species of manure of which the 
land can never be said to tire, for this simple reason, that 
it contains within itself not one alone, but all the ingre- 
dients which plants require for their nutrition, and that, 
too, existing in the precise condition in which they are 
most readily taken in and assimilated." But a good sub- 
stitute for this article, w^here it cannot be ol)tained, is an 



MANURES. 57 

important point. Some time ago, we noticed in the re- 
port of a discussion on manures in Boston, that the Hon. 
M. F. Wilder, one of the most distinguished horticultmists 
in America, stated that he had found the following com- 
post equal to stable manm'e for gardening purposes gene- 
rally, and for fruit trees. 

" One cord of meadow muck, having been exposed to 
the action of the air and frost at least one year ; twelve 
bushels leached ashes ; six bushels crushed bones. This 
mixture cost him at the rate of $4 50 cents per cord. 
Latterly he added to this his stable manure, and about 
an eighth of the whole bulk of fine refuse charcoal from 
the depot of venders, which was delivered to him at $5 
per cord; and in this way he found it the best, as a 
general manure, he had ever used. On fruit trees its 
efiect was remarkable. 

" In the spring of 1847, he planted a square in the nur- 
sery with imported trees from England, this compost 
having been spread and ploughed in. These trees were 
from four to five feet in height, and although it is not 
usual for trees to make a large growth the first year, they 
acc[uired branches of three to four feet, and were so hand- 
some as to com^mand $1 25 each, for a row of fifty trees, 
without any selection. 

" In June last, which is very late to set out trees, he 
prepared another square on rather poor land, and planted 
trees just received from England upon it. The soil had 
been thrown up to the frost the previous winter, and the 
compost here was applied in the trenches near the roots. 
Mr. Wilder exhibited two shoots which had grown from 
those trees since they were set in June. The shoots were 
four feet in length, and the wood hard and w^ell rij)ened." 

In addition to all these sources for manm^e, it may be 
added that fallen leaves, scrapings of streets, weeds, 
wood chips, sawdust, the ashes of all prunings of trees 



58 GENERAL PETNCIPLES. 

and brush, soot, blood, animal flesh, soap suds, and slops 
from the kitchen, and, in fact, everything decomposable 
may be used, to increase the bulk of the manure heap, 
taking care that everything likely to waste by evapora- 
tion be covered at once with muck, charcoal, or some 
material calculated to absorb the gases evolved by de- 
composition. We very frequently see people, in the 
spring of the year, when their garden is undergoing a 
purifying and fitting up process, carry to the highway all 
the brush, dry stems of plants, and all the wi-eck of the 
previous season's work, there to make a bonfire to get it 
out of the way, while at the same moment they complain 
sadly of the lack of manure. 

There was no such thing as a manm*e heap on the pre- 
mises. 

Section 3. — Modes of AppLYEsra Manuke. 

"Where an acre or several acres of ground are to be 
prepared for trees, the better way is to spread the manm-e 
over the surface and turn it in with the plough. "When it 
is scarce and economy necessary, it may be applied 
aromid the roots, by mixing with the earth at planting 
time. 

Quantity to be Applied. — This, of course, depends on 
two things, the necessities of the soil and the quality of 
the manure. If the land be poor, an even covering of 
two or three inches should be given ; if in tolerable good 
condition, one inch will be sufiicient. One inch of well 
decomposed animal manure will be equal to three inches 
of a partially decayed comj^ost. 

Section 4. — Liquid Manure. 
Manure in a liquid state has these advantages to recom- 



MANUKES. 59 

mend it. It can be aj^pliecl to trees and plants in a grow- 
ing state without in the least distm-bing the surftice of the 
soil, and it supplies, at the same time, both nutriment and 
moisture. It can be applied to bearing trees, strawber- 
ries, etc., in fruity if defective in vigor, or suffering from 
drought, and yield an immediate sustenance that will 
enable them to produce much larger and finer fruit than 
they could have done without it. 

It may either be collected in a tank, kept on purpose 
near the barns, or it may be made when wanted by dis- 
solving manure in water. It may be much stronger for 
trees, the roots of which are a considerable distance from 
the surface, than for such plants as have their roots near 
the surface. It is the only prompt and effectual stimu- 
lant for trees on a poor soil, to enable them to perfect 
their crop. We have frequently witnessed its astonishing 
effects. It should be applied in the evening, and in such 
quantity as to penetrate to the roots ; half a dozen water- 
ings will be sufficient in most cases, but it is better to 
apply it well diluted and often, than a smaller quantity 
too strong. A dozen shovelfuls of animal manure will 
make a barrel of liquid powerful enough for most pm-- 
2)0ses ; and if pure liquid soakage of the manure heap or 
urine of animals is used, at least one half rain water 
should be added. Soap suds form an excellent liquid 
manure for all trees. The grape vine is especially be- 
nefited by liberal and frequent application. 



CHAPTEE lY. 

THE DIFFERENT MODES OF PROPAGATING FETIIT TREES. 

General BemavTcs. — The propagation of fruit trees may 
be classed under two principal heads — the Natural^ 
which is by seeds ; and the Artificial^ by the division of 
the jplants^ as in cuttings^ layers^ suckeTS^ huds^ and 
grafts. 

PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 

Seedling fruit trees are propagated, either to obtain 
new varieties, or stocks for budding or grafting. It is 
only where the very rudest system of fruit culture is 
practised, as for instance in newly-settled countries, that 
seedlings are planted out to bear, for the reason that, 
unless in very rare instances, varieties worthy of cultiva- 
tion do not reproduce themselves from seed. Tlie im- 
i:)ortant diiferences that exist between the seeds of dif- 
ferent classes of fruit trees, render it necessary to treat of 
each separately ; their management will therefore be given 
in detail, in connection with the propagation of stocks. 

There are some points, how^ever, of general application 
that may be considered here with propriety. It scarcely 
admits of a doubt, but that the greater part of the difficul- 
ties met with in fruit tree culture, as maladies of various 
sorts, nnfruitfulness, etc., are induced by a careless and 



PKOPAGATION BY SEEDS. 61 

imdiscriminating system of propagation. The stock has 
a most important influence on the health, longevity, fruit- 
fulness, and symmetry of trees, and it does not seem pos- 
sible that our indiscriminate mode of saying seeds for 
stocks is at all consistent with rational, intelligent cul- 
ture. 

What is the ordinary course ? To raise apple seedlings, 
a quantity of pomace is procured at the cider mill, with- 
out the least regard to the quality or maturity of the fruits 
from which it was produced, or of the health, yigor, and 
hardiness of the trees that bore the fruit — these points are 
neyer thought of. So it is in the case of pear seeds. 
During the last few years, these seeds haye been nearly 
as yaluable as gold dust ; the price being seldom less 
than $5 per quart. The present season, a neighboring 
nurseryman has paid at the rate of $4 per quart for a 
bushel. How is this seed procured ? Is it selected fi'om 
healthy, vigorous ti'ees, with sound constitutions, and 
from perfect, well-matured fruits ? By chance it may be ; 
but seed collectors are usually glad to find fruits of any 
hind^ and from any sort of tree^ if they have only seeds 
apparently good. "We do not, by any means, intend to 
charge upon any man a fraudulent intent in this matter. 
The seed collector is no more to blame than the nm-sery- 
man, for the nurseryman seldom asks any particulars about 
the origin of the seeds. How is it with peach trees ? The 
peach is a short-lived tree, highly susceptible of deteriora- 
tion from bad treatment ; and it is obviously impossible 
for an unhealthy, feeble tree, to produce sound and healthy 
plants from their seeds. In some districts of the country, a 
sound, vigorous peach tree is a rarity ; and yet, how are 
peach seeds saved and procured? The seeds are brought 
in to the seedsman, he buys them without asking any ques- 
tions about either the health or sickness of the trees that 
produced them. They are peach stones, and that is all ne- 



62 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

cessaiy to be known. The nurseryman buys of the seeds- 
man j ust as he received them ; this is the way that the comi- 
try has been filled with miserable, diseased, and unsightly 
trees, and who is in the fault « " Why," most people would 
say, the " 7iurserymen^ of course. They ought to be more 
careful in selecting their seeds, so that they might be cer- 
tain of having sound and healthy stocks. They ought to 
select the fruits, from which to obtain their seeds, while on 
the tree, andsee that the trees are not in an incipient, or, 
perhaps, an advanced state of decay, but in full health and 
vigor, possessing such characters, as to habit, growth, and 
hardiness, as are desirable in the best quality of nursery 
stock." Very true, it must be admitted. This is j^recisely 
the course that nurserymen ought to pursue. It is the 
course followed in the great orchard districts of France, and 
that ought to be adopted everywhere. But we must have 
cheap, easy, and Wbor-samng modes of doing things now- 
a-days ; as well the raising of trees as everything else. 
Suppose a nurseryman could be found who would go about 
the culture of trees after some such system as we have indi- 
cated, it must be very clear that he could not sell his trees 
as cheap as another, who followed the present almost uni- 
versal hap-hazard course, and if he could not do this, the 
probability is he would be compelled to keep them ; for 
pm-chasers of trees, as a general thing, make no such discri- 
minations. It happened one season that more than the 
usual quantities of seedling, unworked, peach trees were 
brought into the streets of Kochester for sale ; they were 
as miserable, in all resjpeds, as trees could be ; yet they 
were sold by the thousand, at from 4 to 8 cents apiece, 
and scarcely one of them ever grew, for they were killed 
by exposure, fortunately. At that very time there wxre 
large stocks in the nurseries, about town, of good worked 
trees of the best varieties, ofiered at one sMlling each. 
This instance is quoted simply to show who are to blame 



PEOPAGATION BY SEEDS. 63 

for tlie defective and vicions systems of propagation usually 
practised. That there will be a reform soon is not to be 
doubted. A discriminating spirit is already becoming ap- 
parent among the best classes of cultivators, and their 
example will soon be felt. The selection of seeds for stocks 
is a point of more than ordinary importance, and merits 
the special attention of every man engaged, to whatever 
extent, in the propagation of fruit trees. 

Production of New Yarieties. — ISTew varieties are j^ro- 
duced from seeds that have been properly hybridized, as 
described in the article on hybridization, or from seeds of 
the best specimens of the best varieties. 

Where it is desired to obtain seedlings of a particular 
variety, free from any crossing with others, the flowers 
should be protected while in blossom, to guard them 
against foreign impregnation ; seeds should be saved only 
from large, perfect, fine flavored specimens, and the seeds 
themselves should be plump and mature. Sometimes a 
good variety is obtained by selecting from beds of seed- 
lings, such as possess marked evidences of improvement, 
vigorous^ luxuriant growth^ large heavy foliage^ pro- 
minent huds^ and smooth^ thornless ivood. These charac- 
ters indicate superiority, but do not always ensure superior 
fruit. The stock is supposed to exert consideraljle influ- 
ence on the seed ; and if this be the case, it would be well 
to get such varieties as we wish seeds from, on their own 
roots, by layering, or grafting on roots in the ground, so 
that the graft will itself strike root. Mr. Knight's mode 
of obtaining seedlings, of the best varieties, was to prepare 
stocks from some o-ood sort that would strike from cuttine-s. 
These stocks he planted in rich warm soil, and grafted 
with the kind he wanted the seeds from. The first season 
after grafting he took them up, reduced the roots, and 
planted again. In this way he had them bear fruit in two 



64 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

years. He allowed only a conj)le of sj)ecimeiis to remain 
on eacli tree, and these, consequently, were very large, 
mature, and every w^ay fine, and from these ttie seeds were 
taken. Seedlings may be tested quickly, by budding or 
grafting them on bearing trees. "We may fruit apj^les and 
pears in this w^ay, in four or five years, w^hilst ten or fif- 
teen would be necessary on their own roots. Experimenters 
on this subject have found the seeds of new varieties are 
more certain to produce good fruit than the seed of old 
ones. 

2. By Division of tlie Plants. — It has been remarked 
in the article on buds, that every bud is capable, under 
favorable circumstances, of producing a new individual, 
similar to that from which it is taken. 

Hence it is, that out of the young annual wood of an ap- 
ple, pear, peach, or any other fruit tree, we frequently 
make several hundreds. Every good, well-formed bud, 
properly separated, and inserted under the bark of the in- 
dividuals of the same, or a closely allied, species, will, in 
one year from its insertion, or with one season's growth, 
have become a new tree. It is by these means we are 
enabled to disseminate new varieties with such wonderful 
rapidity. If a young tree of a new variety will make half 
a dozen shoots the first season, each bearing half a dozen 
buds, we can, if we have stocks to bud on, be in possession 
of thirty trees of that variety in two years from the time 
we obtained one tree, and in another year we may have 
four times that number. The production of a tree from a 
Imd.^ a groft.^ a layer .^ or a mitting^^ but the same thing 
effected by different means. In all the cases, a j^art of the 
parent plant, with one or more buds attached, is separated 
from it. The cutting.^ sometimes composed of one bud or 
joint, and sometimes of several, we j^ut directly in the 
ground, where it forms roots, The graft is a cutting in- 



PKOPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



Go 



perted, not in the gronnd, but in the wood of another plant 
to which it unites. The bud inserted under the bark of 
another tree, and the one buried in the ground, differ only 
in this, that one draws its support directly from the soil, 
and the other indirectly, through the tree to which it 
unites. 



Section 1. — Peopagation by Cuttings. 

A cutting is a shoot, or part of a shoot, generally of one 
season's growth. The length of the cutting varies from 
a single eye or joint, to a foot, according to the nature of 
the species, or the circumstances under which they are to 
be grown. The wood should be as stout and mature as pos- 
sible, and should be cut close and smooth to a bud at both 
ends (fig. 56). In all cases, cuttings taken off closely to 
the old wood, with the base attached, as in fig. 57, are 




Figs. 56 to 59 cuttings. 56, a cutting, all of young wood. 57, a cutting, with a 
heel of old wood. 58, a cutting, with 2 or 3 eyes of old wood. 59. a cutting, of a 
single eye of the grape vine. 60, along cutting of the grape, line ^, B, surface of the 
ground. 



60 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

more successful tlian when cut at several joints above ; 
and in many cases, as in the quince for example, an inch 
or tv/o of the old wood left attached to the base of the cut- 
ting, as in fig. 58, renders it still more certain of success. 
The more buds we can get around the base of a cutting, 
the better, other things being equal ; for these buds, as soon 
as they become active, send down new matter, from which 
the roots are emitted. 

Cuttings of the grape are sometimes made of a single 
eye (fig. 59), with an inch or so of wood above and be- 
low it. 

The ti7ne to make cuttings is in the fall, as soon as the 
wood is ripe, and through the early winter months. It 
should not be deferred later than January. The soil for 
cuttings is of the greatest importance to their success, for 
if, on the one hand, it be cold, damp, and compact, they 
will decay, and if too loose and sandy, they will dry up 
for the want of sufiicient moisture. A soil so mellow that 
it cannot bake, and yet so compact as to retain humidity 
enough to suj^port the cuttings, until new roots are formed, 
seems to be absolutely necessary — such a soil as we may 
suppose a good garden border to be composed of. Rooted 
plants can endure extremes, but cuttings require the most 
favorable circumstances. 

Tifne to Plant. — ^The fall would be the better season to 
plant all cuttings, if we could cover them so as to prevent 
the frost from heaving them out. It is on account of this 
difiiculty that we plant, from necessity, in the spring ; but 
spring planting must be done very early, that vegetation 
may proceed gradually. If late planted, warm weather 
comes on them at once, before they have formed roots 
sufiicient to support the demands of the young leaves. 
Where only a few are grown, shading might, at certain 
times, be given, and some light substance, like saw dust, 



PEOPAGATION BY LAYERING. 67 

be sj^read about tliem, to preserve an even temperature 
and humidity, or they might be j)ut in a cold frame, where 
they could receive any required attention. Where acres of 
cuttings are grown, these things are not practicable. 

Dejptli to plant. — As a general thing, cuttings should be 
inserted so deep, that only two buds will be above the 
surface of the ground, and in the vine only one. If cut- 
tings are long, they need not be set perpendicular, but 
sloping, so as to be within reach of heat and air. A 
cutting of a single eye of the vine with a piece of wood 
attached, must be entirely covered, say half an inch 
deep ; see figures 56 to 60, ground line, A^ B. But such 
cuttings are seldom planted, except in pots, in houses, or 
in hotbeds. 

Preserving Cuttings. — K cuttings are not planted in the 
autumn, they should at least be prepared quite early in 
the winter, and be buried in the earth out of doors, in a 
pit. A. mound of earth should be drawn up over the pit 
to throw off water. At the very first favorable moment in 
the spring they should be planted. Trenches are opened 
as deep as necessary wdth a spade, and the cuttings set in 
it at the proper distance, from three inches to a foot, ac- 
cording to circumstances. When the cuttings are in the 
trench, the earth is partly filled in, and trod firmly down 
with the foot, then the balance is filled in and levelled 
up. 

Cuttings require particular attention, in the way of weed- 
ing and hoeing ; if weeds grow up thickly, and appropri- 
ate the moisture of the ground, or if the sm-face be allowed 
to crack, as it may after rains, if not quite sandy, they will 
either make a feeble growth, or fail entirely. The ground 
wants repeated stirring, to keep it friable and perfectly 
free from weeds. 



68 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



Section 2. — Propagation by Layering. 

A layer is similar to a cutting, except that it is allowed 
to remain in partial connection with the parent plant 
until it has emitted roots. On this accomit, layers are 
much more certain than cuttings. It is the best method 
of propagating the grape and the gooseberry^ and also 
the quince^ paradise^ and Doucain^ for stocks. It may be 
performed in the spring with shoots of the previous 
year's growth, before vegetation has commenced, or in 
July and August on w^ood of the same season's growth. 
The ordinary mode of doing it is, first, to spade over and 
prepare the ground in which the branch is to be laid, in 
order to make it light and friable. The branch is then 
brought down to the ground (fig. 61), an incision is made 
at the base of bud J., through the bark, and 
partly through the wood; the knife is drawn ^| / 
upward, splitting the shoot an inch 
length, and the branch is laid in the 
the cut open, and kept down 
by means of a crooked or hooked 
wooden peg, B. The earth is then 
drawn in smoothly around, cov- 
ering it two or three inches 
deep; and the end of the 
shoot that is above ground, is 
tied up to a stick {G\ if it re- 
quires sujDport. In the grape^ 
gooseberry^ or currant^ a simple 
notch below a bud is sufiicient, 

and they will root if simply pegged down ; but roots are 
formed more rapidly when the shoot is cut one third 
through, and slit as described. 

A long shoot of the vine may be layered at several 
points, and thus produce several rooted plants in \\\^ 




Fig. 61. 

Tig. 61. a common layer. A^ the 
incision. 5, hooked peg. C, 



riiOPAGATION BY LxVYEEING. 



69 




Fig. 62, Serpentine layer. 



com-se of one season. This is called serpentine layering 
(fig. 62). The Quince^ Paradise^ and Doucain stocks, 
where raised in large quantities, are propagated 
in a different way from that described. The pro- 
cess requires much less labor ; and where plants 
root so freely 
as they do, it 
answers every 
purpose. 

We will take 
a plant of the 
quince, for ex- 
ample, and, in 
the spring, before growth commences, we cut it down 
nearly to the ground, leaving four or five buds at its base 
(J., fig. 63). During that season, a number of vigorous 
shoots will be made. The following autumn or sj^ring the 
earth is drawn up around the base of the plant, so that 

the crown where it 
was cut will be 
covered, and, con- 
sequently, the base 
of all the shoots 
for several inches 
in height. Dur- 
ing the next sum- 
mer's growth every 
branch is suffi- 
:^^= ciently rooted to 
^-^^^ be separated and 
placed in nursery 

A, the paint ^,^^,g ^^IQ fullowiug 

sj^ring. This is the 
way to obtain strong stocks ; for the cutting back of the 
mother plant produces very vigorous shoots the first 




r/^. 63, Mound layering or banking np 
at which the mother plant was cut back. 



TO GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

season, and vdien another season's growth is added they 
are as strong as can be desired. We succeed in rooting 
these shoots the first season of their growth by earthing 
them up about midsummer ; but they are not quite strong 
enough, or sufficiently rooted, for transplanting and bud- 
ding the following season. 

Section 3. — Propagation by Suckers. 

Suchers are shoots sent up from the roots. We ob- 
serve them most frequently around trees that have had 
their roots wounded by the spade or plough. The wounds 
induce the formation of buds, and these buds send up 
shoots. They are occasionally used from necessity for 
stocks, but should not be employed where seedlings can 
be obtained. Occasionally we find certain varieties of 
plum throw up fine vigorous suckers, that would make 
excellent stocks if taken off with good roots ; but their 
tendency to produce suckers renders them exceedingly 
annoying in gardens, and on this account objectionable. 
The roots of the raspberry are full of buds, and, con- 
sequently, throw up great quantities of suckers ; and the 
smallest cuttings of the roots will grow. Suckers of any 
plants that can easily be propagated by cuttings or layers, 
should never be used. 

Section 4. — Propagation by Budding. 

This operation is performed during the growing season, 
and usually on young trees from one to five years old, 
with a smooth soft bark. It consists in separating a bud 
with a portion of bark attached, from a shoot of the cur- 
rent season's growth of one tree, and inserting it below 
the bark of another. When this bud begins to grow, all 
that part of the stock above it is cut away, the bud grows 
on, and eventually forms a tree of the same variety as 



PROPAGATION BY BUDDING. 71 

that from wliicli it was taken. Buds may be inserted in 
June, and make considerable growth the same season, 
but as a general thing this is not desirable in the propa- 
gation of fruit trees. The ordinary season in the IN^orthern 
States is from the middle of July till the middle of Sep- 
tember, and the earliness or lateness at which a species 
is budded depends, other things being equal, on the con- 
dition of its growth. 

Those accomplishing their growth early in the season 
are budded early, and those that grow until the autumn 
are budded late — thus the season extends over a period 
exceeding two months. In all cases, the following condi- 
tions are necessary : 

1st. The huds must he perfectly developed in the axils 
of the leaves on the young shoots intended to bud from. 
This is seldom the case until the shoot has temporarily 
ceased to lengthen, as indicated by the perfect formation 
of its terminal bud. 

If buds are 'wanted before this condition naturally ar- 
rives, their maturity may be hastened very much by 
pinching the tips of the shoots. In ten or twelve days 
after the pinching of a very soft shoot, its buds are fit for 
workino^. 

2d. The harlc must rise freely from the stocla to he hud- 
ded. This only happens when the stocks are in a thrifty 
and growing state. Where only a few stocks are to be 
worked, they can be easily watered, if necessary, a week 
or so before it is desirable to bud them. Trees that ac- 
complish most of their growth early in the season, must 
be watched and budded before they cease to grow ; those 
that grow very late, must not be budded early, or the 
formation of new wood will surround and cover the buds ; 
in gardener's language, they will be " drowned by the 
sap." 

The implements needed are a pruning hnJfe to dress 



72 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

the stocks, by removing anj branches that may be in the 
way of inserting the bud ; and a hudding hiife to take 
off the buds and make the incisions in the stock. The 
latter should have a very thin, smooth, and keen edge. 

Strings for tying in tlie hitds are either taken from bass 
mats, or they are prepared from the bark of the bass- 
wood. We always prepare our own ; we send to the woods 
and strip the bark off the trees in June ; we then put it 
in water from two to three weeks, according to the age 
of the bark, until its tissue is decomposed, and the fibrous, 
paper-like inner bark is easily separated from the outer, 
when it is torn into strips, dried, and put away for use. 
Before using, it should always be moistened to make it 
tough and pliable. 

Cutting and Preparing the Buds. — ^Young shoots in 
the condition described, are cut below the lowest ]3lump 
bud ; an inch or two of the base of every shoot, where the 
buds are very close together, and quite small, should be 
left. The leaves are then stripped off, leaving half of 
each leaf stalk to handle the bud by, as in fig. 63. 

Presermng the Buds. — When a considerable quantity 
is cut at once, they should be wrapped in a damp cloth 
as soon as cut and stripped of the leaves, and they may 
be preserved in good order for ten days, by keeping them 
in a cool cellar among damp saw-dust, or closely envelop 
ed in damp cloths, matting, or moss. We often send buds 
a week's journey, packed in moss slightly moistened ; the 
leaves being oft", the evaporation is trifling, none in fact 
when packed up, consequently very little moisture is 
needed. 

Having the stocks, buds, and implements in the condi- 
tion described, the operation is performed in this w^ay : 

The shoot to bud from is taken in one hand, and the 
budding knife in the other, the lower part of the edge 
of the knife is placed on the shoot half an inch above the 



PROPAGATION BY BUDDING. 



73 



bud to be removed (^4, fig. 64), the thumb of the knife- 
hand rests on the shoot 
below the bud {JB\ a 
drawing cut is then 
made, parallel with the 
shoot, removing the 
bud and the bark to 
which it is attached, 
half an inch above, 
and three quarters be- 
low it. This is the 
usual length, but it 
may in many cases be 
shorter. The cut is 
made just deep enough 
to be below the bark, 
a small portion of the 
wood is always taken 




64 to 70, Budding. 



Fig. 64, a shoot of buds with the leaves taken 
off. ^, the point above Ihe bud where the knife 
was inserted. B, tlie point below where it comes 
out. Fig. 65, is a bud badlj- taken off, with a 
hollow in the centre. Fig. 66, a good bud. .^, 
root of the bud. B, root of the leaf. 







M'^ 86. 70. 

Fig. 67, a stock with the bark slit vertically and across. Fig. 6S, the same 
with the bark raised as far as the dotted line. Fig. 69, the same with the 
bud inserted. Fig. 70, the same tied up. 

off with it, and if this adheres firmly it should be allowed 

4 



74 GENERAL PEINCIPLES; 

to remain; if it parts freely, it should be taken out, but in 
doing so the root of the bud must be carefully preserved, 
for if it comes out with the wood, the bud is useless. The 
root of the bud, as it is termed, is a small portion of wood 
in the hollow part of the inside of the bud. Fig. 64 is a 
good bud, A^ root of bud, B^ root of leaf. Fig. 65 is im- 
perfect, the roots of leaf and bud both out. A smooth 
place on the stock, clear of branches, is then chosen, 
where two incisions are made to the depth of the bark, one 
across the end of the other, so as to form a T, iig. 67; the 
bark on the two edges of the perjoendicular cut is raised 
(fig. 68) with the smooth ivory handle of the budding 
knife, and the bud is inserted between them (fig. 69) ; the 
upper end of the bark attached to • the bud is cut square, 
to fit to the horizontal cut on the stock, the bass string is 
then wound around tightly, comniencing at the bottom, 
and covering every part of the incision, leaving the bud 
itself, and the leaf-stalk, uncovered (fig. YO), the string is 
fastened above the horizontal cut, and the work is done. 
The success of the operation, as far as its execution is con- 
cerned, depends, in a great measure, OTi smooth ciits^ an 
exact fit of the hud to tlie incision made for it^ secure^ 
close tying^ that will completely exclude air and rain wa- 
ter, and the quick performance of the whole. The inser- 
tion of a bud should not, in any case, occupy more than a 
oninute ^ ordinary practised budders will set two in that 
time, and often two hundred in an hour with a person to 
tie. Where the stocks and buds work well, two thousand 
is not an uncommon day's v/ork in our nurseries, especially 
of cherries, peaches, and apples. 

"Where only a few buds are to be set, a cool, moist day 
or evening should be selected, as they will be more cer- 
tain of success than if inserted during the middle of a hot, 
dry day. 

The chief difficulty experienced by beginners in bud- 



PEOrAGATION BY GRAFTING. Y5 

ding, is the proper removal, of the bud. When itliappens 
that the knife passes exactly between the bark and wood, 
the bud cannot fail to be good ; but this rarely ha23pens— 
more or less wood is attached, and the removal of this is 
tlie nice point. Where the buds are fiat, the ditficulty is 
less than when they have large prominent shoulders, as 
the plum and pear have, in many cases. When all the 
wood is taken out of these, a cavity remains, which does 
not come in contact with the wood on which the bud is 
placed, and therefore, although the bark unites well, the 
bud will not grow. Sometimes, such as these are sepa- 
rated by making an incision through the bark ; lift the 
edge of the bark attached to the bud with the knife, and 
push it oif with the fingers. A safer way still is to cut 
around the bud, and draw a strong silk thread betw^een 
the bark and wood, thus removing the bud in perfection. 

Section 5. — Propagation by Grafting. 

Grafting is the insertion of a scion of one species or 
variety on the stem or branch of another, which is called 
the stocli. Its principal object is to increase certain varie- 
ties that cannot be reproduced from seed Avith certainty ; 
but it is Irerpiently performed w^ith other objects in view. 
For instance — • 

To Fruit a New Yariety. — A scion inserted in a 
branch of a bearing tree, will bear fruit perhaps the 
second year from the graft ; but if the same scion had 
been put on a young seedling, it would not have borne in 
ten years. 

One srjecies is frequently grafted wdtli success upon 
another, by which certain important modifications are 
wrought upon both the size and fruitfulness of trees, and 
the quality of the fruits. Thus, we can graft, in many 
cases, with highly beneficial results, the peach and apri- 



76 GENEEAL PKINCIPLES. 

cot on the plum ; the pear on the quince ; strong grow- 
ing species and varieties on weaker ones, and vice versa. 
But experience has established the fact, that there must 
be between the stock and graft a close alliance. We 
cannot graft an ajjjjle on ^ peach., nor a cherry on 2^ pear ' 
but the pear, the apple, quince, medlar, thorn, and moun- 
tain ash — a naturally allied group — may, with more or 
less success, be worked upon one another. 

The French horticulturists, who are the most skilful 
and curious in all matters pertaining to the propagation 
of plants, describe in their works upwards of one hun- 
dred different modes of grafting, practised in different 
ages and countries, and for the attainment of particular 
objects ; but, however interesting the study of all these 
may be to the student and experimentalist, the great 
bulk of them are of little practical utility, and are never 
applied in the multiplication of fruit trees. It is, there- 
fore, unnecessary to fill up the pages of such a treatise as 
this, with either a historical account or description of 
them. The methods described below are those univer- 
sally adopted, with slight modifications, by the best prac- 
tical propagators everywhere at the present day. 

Stocks are of all ages from a yearling seedling to a 
tree forty or fifty years old ; but of whatever age, they 
should be sound and healthy. ISTursery stocks will be 
more particularly spoken of in the proper place. 

Scions are generally shoots of the previous year's 
growth. Rarely those bearing fruit buds are used for the 
purpose of exj)eriment, but in such cases only. They 
should be cut in the autumn after the fall of the leaf, or 
in the winter, and be preserved carefully in earth till 
wanted for use. If intended for root-grafting early in the 
spring in the house, it will be sufficient to bury their 
lower ends in earth, in a cool, dry cellar ; but if wanted 
for out-door grafting, they should be buried in dry sandy 



xxc^xAUATION BY GKAFTING. 7Y 

soil^ ill a i^it, on the nortli side of a wall or fence, and 
deeply covered with earth drawn np in a mound to throw 
off the water. They are thus kept perfectly dormant 
until used, and not so dry as to shrivel the bark. They 
should always be taken from healthy, vigorous trees ex- 
clusively^ and be of firm, Avell-ripened wood. A mode- 
rate-sized shoot or scion, if well matured and sound, is 
much better tHaii one as thick as a man's finger, ^^V/^y 
and unripe. People are by no means so carefid and dis- 
criminating in this respect as they ought to be. Half of 
the maladies of trees originate in negligent and vicious 
systems of propagation. The implements used in graft- 
ing are the grcifting-hiife^ saiL\ and cMsel (see imple- 
ments). In whip-grafting or S2:)lice-grafting, the stocks 
being small require the knife only, or not more than 
the knife and chisel. It is always better to have two 
knives — one to prune and do the rough work, and the 
other to prepare the scion. Grafting com])osition is pre- 
pared in various ways. Rosin ^ heesioctx^ and talloio^ in 
about equal parts, answer very well. Lately, however, 
we have found it better to use more rosin and less bees- 
wax and tallow ; thus, to two pounds of rosin we add 
one and one fourth pomids of beeswax, and three fourths 
of a pound of tallow. For whip-grafting on the root, 
and small trees in the nursery, we use cloth saturated with 
this composition, instead of the composition itself, and 
find it more convenient and expeditious. If we have no 
old calico, v,'e buy a very thin article, at about four cents 
per yard. This we tear into narrow strips, roll into balls, 
and then soak in the liquid composition until every pore 
of the cloth is filled with it. The person who aj^plies it 
to the grafts takes it from these balls, tears it in ]3ieces 
the length and breadth required by the size of the stock, 
and two or three turns of it around the graft secure it 
completely. TJjis thin cloth soon decays, and yields to 



78 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



tlie enlargement of the parts it encloses. We liave tried 
tow, paper, and other materials, but find this the best. 
Having the scions, implements, and composition in readi- 
ness, the work is performed as follows : 

Whip- Grafting on the Root. — For this pnrpose, seed- 
ling stocks are generally used, one or two years old, vary- 
ing from onefourtJi to tliree eigldlis of an inch in diameter. 
The graft is always made at the collar, ancT, therefore, the 
stems of the plants are cut off at that point ; the small 
tap-roots and any cumbrous fibres are removed, leaving 
them about four inches in length (fig. Yl) ; they are then 
washed clean, and are ready for the operation. The 
grafter then makes a smooth, even, sloping cut, an inch 
long, upwards on the collar of the root, 
A / and in the centre of this cut, he makes 
a slit or tongue, ^, downwards. The scion, 
which should be tln-ee or four inches long 
(fig. 72), is cut on 
the lower end with 
a sloping cut down- 
wards, and similar 
in all respects to 
that made on the 



stock ; a 



slit, or 



tongue, is made in 
it upwards, ^, cor- 
responding, also, 
with that on the 
stock ; and they 
are then neatly 




11. 



Figs. 71 to ' 



Rooi 




fitted together, the 
tongue of the one 
within the other 
(J., fig. 73), and the 
inner barks of both placed In close and })erfect contact, at 



Fig. 71. the root. Jl^ the sloping cut .B, the tongue. 
Fig. 72, the scion. Jl., the sloping cut. B, tongue. Q 
bud at top. Fig. 73, the union of scion and stock. 



PROrAGATION BY GRAFTING. 79 

least on one side. The fit should be so complete as to sit 
close and iirm in all parts. The person who applies the 
wax, takes a narrow strip of the cloth described, and 
wraps it firmly around, covering the parts united. A man 
and boy can graft of these twelye to fifteen hundred per 
day, and by a special efi:brt two thousand. When the 
grafting is thus performed, the grafted plants are put 
away as closely as they can be packed in small boxes, 
with sandy earth among the roots, and deposited either 
in a cold cellar or in a dry place out of doors, where 
frost cannot penetrate to the roots, until planting time in 
S]3ring. 

Whij) Grafting on small trees, standing in the oj^en 
ground, is j^erformed in precisely the same manner, the 
oblique or sloping cut and tongue, corresponding in stock 
and graft, fitting into each other with 23recision, and tlie 
inner bark of both, at least on one side, placed in close 
contact. Stocks an inch in diameter can be grafted in this 
way. Either tlie cloth or the liquid composition may be 
applied, the latter put on with a brush. For all moderate 
sized stocks the cloth is preferable. In cold weather, a 
small furnace can be kept at hand to keep the composi- 
tion in working order. 

Gleft Grafting is practised on trees or branches too 
large for whip grafting, say from an inch in diameter up- 
wards. In this case, the scion is cut precisely in the form of 
a wedge (fig. T-i). The part cut for insertion in the stock, 
should be about an inch or an inch and a half long, with 
a bud {A) at the shoulder, where it is to rest on the stock ; 
this bud hastens the union of the parts, in the same way 
as a bud at the base of a cutting, set in the earth, hastens 
and facilitates the emission of roots : the outer edge should 
also be somewhat thicker than the inner. A sloping cut 
{A^ fig 75) is then made on the stock, an inch and a half 



80 



GENERAL PEmCIPLES. 



long, another cut {B) is made across this cut, 
about half way clown, as at point B, the stock 
is split on one side of the pith, by laying the 
chisel on the horizontal surface, and striking 
lightly with a mallet; the split is kept open 
with the knife or chisel till the scion is inserted 
with the thick side 
out {A, fig. Y4). 
Grafts of this kind 
heal much more ra- 
pidly than when cut 
at once horizontally. 
Yery large branches 
are sawed horizon- 
tally ofi" at the point 
to be grafted {A^ fig. 
TY); the surface is 
then pared smooth 
with the knife, a 
split is made with 
the chisel, nearly in 
the centre, and hvo 




Figs. 74 to 76, Clift Grafting 




Fig. 74, the scion prepared with a sloping cut on 
each side like a wedge. A, a bud at the shoulder. 
Fig. 75, the stock cut and split. ^, the sloping cut. 
-, , ., ' . . ^, the horizontal cut. Fig. 76, the scion inserted in 

wedge-like scions m- the stock. 
serted(J.,^,fig.Y8); 

if both grow, and they are afterwards too close, one can be 
cut away. Another mode of grafting such large stocks, or 
branches, is to cut them ofi' horizontally, as above, and pare 
them smooth w^ith the knife ; then cut the scion on one side, 
about an inch and a half long, making a shoulder at the 
top, then raise the bark from the stock with the handle of 
a budding knife, and insert the scion between the bark 
and wood, and apply the composition the same as in the 
others, all over the cut part. Two or three scions may be 
]uit in each. The principal objection to this mode is, that 



TROPAGATION BY GKAFTING. 



81 



the grafts, if tliey grow rapidly, are apt to be blown off 
before they have united strongly to the stock. 

The great points to observe always are, /^ 
to have sharj) insti-uments that will make ' 

smooth clean cuts, to have placed in per- 
fect contact the inner barks of scion and 
stock, and the whole cut surface, and 
every portion of the split 
perfectly covered with the 
composition, to exclude 
air and water. The scion 
should always be cut 
close to a bud at the 
point (<?, fig. 71), and have 
a bud at the shoulder, or 
point of union with the 
stock {A, fig. 73). 

In grafting the heads 
of large trees, it is not 
convenient to use the 
composition in a melted 
state, to be put on with 
the brush, and the large cut surfaces cannot well be covered 
with the cloth ; it is therefore better to use the composi- 
tion in such a state that it can be put on with the hands. 
A very small quantity of brick dust may be advantage- 
ously mixed with it, when intended for this pm']30se, to 
j)revent its being melted by the sun. 

Double WorMng. — ^When we graft or bud a tree ab 
ready budded or grafted, we call it " double worked." 
Certain very important advantages are gained by it. Some 
varieties are of such feeble growth, that it is impossible to 
make good trees of them in the ordinary way of working 
on common stocks. In such cases, we use worked trees of 
strong growing sorts as stocks for them. 
4* 




77 and 78, cleft grafting, large trees or 
branches. 77, the stock cut horizontally 
at ^. 78, the same, with two scions inserted. 



82 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

Many varieties of the pear do not unite well with the 
quince stock ; we therefore bud other varieties of strong 
growth that do sncceed, and use them for stocks to work 
the others on. By this means we are enabled to possess 
dwarf trees of many varieties, that we conld not otherwise 
have in that form. We have fruited the Dix in two years 
by double working on the quince, w^hen otherwise it would 
have taken not less than seven. A great many improve- 
ments may be effected, not only in the form and growth 
of trees, but in the quality of the fruit, by double working. 
Yery few experiments have yet been made on the subject 
in this country, except from necessity ; but the general in- 
terest now felt on all matters pertaining to fruit tree cul- 
ture, cannot fail to direct attention to this and similar 
matters that have heretofore, in a great measure, been 
overlooked. 



CHAPTEE Y. 

PKUNING ITS PRINCIPLES AXD PRACTICE. 

This is one of the most important operations connected 
with the management of trees. From the removal of the 
seedling plant from the seed bed, through all its succes- 
sive stages of groAvth and maturity, pruning, to some 
extent, and for some purpose, is necessary. It may, 
therefore, be reasonably presumed, that no one is capable 
of managing trees successfully, and especially those con- 
ducted under certain forms, more or less opposed to 
nature, without knowing well lioio to ijrune^ what to ]yrune^ 
and when to frune. This knowledge can only be acquired 
by a careful study of the structure of trees, because the 
pruning applied to a tree must (aside from the general 
principles on which all pruning depends) be adapted to 
its j)articular habits of growth and mode of bearing its 
fruit. It is in view of this fact that the chapter on the 
structure and mode of fomiation of the different parts of 
fruit trees has been given in the first part of this treatise, 
that it may form the basis of this branch of culture. 

The idea that our bright American sun and clear 
atmosphere render pruning an almost unnecessary ope- 
ration, has not only been inculcated by horticultural 
writers, but has been acted upon in practice to such an 
extent that more than three fourths of all the bearing 
fruit trees in the country, at this moment, are either lean, 
misshaped skeletons, or the heads are perfect masses of 



84 GENERAL rEINCIPLES. 

wood, unable to yield more tliaii one bushel of fruit in 
ten, well matured, colored, and ripened. 

This is actually the case even in what may be called, 
in comparison, well managed orchards. Look at the dif 
ferenee between the fruits produced on young and old trees. 
The former are open, the fruits are exposed to the sun, and, 
therefore, they are not only large and perfect, but their 
skins are smooth and brilliant, as though they were painted 
and polished. This ought to teach us something about 
pruning ; but this is only one point. We prune one por- 
tion of a tree to reduce its vigor, and to favor the growth 
of another and weaker part. We prune a stem, a branch, 
or a shoot to produce ramifications of these parts, and 
thus change or modify the form of the whole tree. We 
prune to induce fruitfulness, and to diminish it. We 
prune in the growing as well as in the dormant season ; 
and, finally, we prune both roots and branches. Thus we 
see that pruning is applied to all parts of the tree, at all 
seasons, and to produce the most opposite results. 

It appears necessary to treat of pruning under each of 
these circumstances separately. 

1st. Pruning to Direct the Growth from one Part of 
a Tree to another. — ^The first period in the existence and 
growth of a tree in which this becomes necessary, is in 
the nursery. Tliose who have had any experience in tree 
culture, have observed that young trees in nursery rows 
have a tendency to increase in height without acquiring a 
well-proportioned increase in diameter. In certain cases, 
this want of proportion becomes so great, that the tree 
bends under its own weight ; and hence, it is necessary 
to resort to some method of propping it up. This con- 
dition is attributable to several causes. First, the absence 
of a suflacient amount of air and light around the stem, to 
enable the leaves on it to fulfil their functions properly. 
It has been shown that the formation of new wood de- 



PEUNING. 85 

peiids upon the elaborating process carried on in the 
leaves, and that this jDrocess can be maintained only in a 
free exposure to the sun and air. This being the case, it 
is obvious that any part of the tree excluded from the 
action of these agents, cannot keep pace in growth with 
other 23arts to which they have full access. In nursery 
rows, as trees are usually i^lanted, the stems, after the 
iirst year's growth, are, to a great extent, excluded from 
the light, consequently the buds and leaves on them can- 
not perform their parts in the creation of new wood. The 
top of the tree, however, is fully exposed, and, conse- 
quently, it makes a rapid growth towards the free air and 
light. When this is continued for two or three years in 
succession, the tree becomes top-heavy ; the quantity 
of woody fibre at the top is as great as, and it may be 
greater than, at the bottom ; and hence it bends luider its 
own weight. 

2d. The Tendency of tlie Sap to the Growing Points at 
tTie Top of the Tree. — Growth is alw^ays the most active 
andvigorous, when trees are in a natural condition, at the 
newly-formed parts. The young buds are the most excit- 
able, and the more direct their communication with the 
roots, the more rapid will be their growth. Hence it is 
that a yearling tree furnished with fifteen to twenty buds 
or more, from its base to its top, frequently produces a 
shoot from its terminal bud only, and seldom more than 
three or four shoots from the whole number of buds, and 
these at the top. This natural tendency, and the exclusion 
of light from the stems of nursery trees, by their closeness 
to one another, are the chief causes of weak and crooked 
trees, to counteract which we resort to pruning. 

In " heading downP a young tree^ we cut away one 
third or one half of the length of the stem, and this removes 
the actively growing parts ; the sap must then find new 
channels. Its whole force is directed to the buds that were 



86 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

before dormant, they are excited into growth, and produce 
new wood and leaves ; these send down new layers of 
woody fibre on the old stem, and it increases rapidly in 
diameter, so that by the time it has attained its former 
height, the base is two or three times as thick as the 
top, and possesses sufficient strength to maintain an erect 
position. 

Maintaining an equal growth among the hranches of a 
tree is conducted on the same principle. Branches that 
are more favorably placed than others, appropriate more 
than their due proportion of the sap, and grow too vigor- 
ously, are checked, by removing more or less of their grow- 
ing points ; this lessens the flow of sap to that point, and 
it naturally takes its course to the growing parts of the 
weaker branches that were left entire, and thus a balance 
is restored. 

Pruning to renew tlie Growth of Stunted Trees. — ^It 
frequently hap]3ens that trees, from certain causes, become 
stunted, and almost cease to grow ; the sap vessels be- 
come contracted, and every part assumes a comparatively 
dormant condition. In such cases they are cut back, the 
number of their buds and leaves is reduced, the wdiole 
force of the sap is made to act upon the small number re- 
maining, and enables them to produce vigorous young 
shoots ; these send down new w^oody matter to the stem, 
new roots are also formed, and thus the whole tree is re- 
newed and invigorated. 

Pruning to induce Fruitftdness.- — ^This is conducted on 
the principle that whatever is favorable to rapid, vigorous 
growth, is unfavorable to the immediate production of 
fruit. Hence the object in view must be to check growth 
and impede the circulation of the sap, just the opposite of 
pruning to renew growth. The only period at which this 
pruning can be performed, is after vegetation has com- 
menced. If a tree is severely pruned immediately after 



PRUNING. 87 

it has put fortli its leaves, it receives sncli a clieck as to be 
unable to produce a vigorous growth the same season; 
the sa-p is impeded in its circulation, and the result is that 
a large number of the young shoots that would have made 
vigorous wood branches, had they not been checked, as- 
sume the character of fruit spurs and branches. Pincli- 
ing is the princi^^al mode of pruning to promote fruitful- 
ness, and will be explained hereafter. It depends upon 
the above princij^le, of impeding the circulation of the sap 
and checking gro^^^h. 

Pruning to diniinisli fruiffulness^ is conducted on the 
same principle as that to renew growth, for this, in fact, 
is the object. 

Pruning the Poots. — This is practised as well to pro- 
mote fruitfulness, as to lessen the dimensions of trees. 
The roots, as has been shown, are the organs that absorb 
from the ground the principal food of the tree, and in j^ro- 
portion to their number, size, and activity, other things 
being equal, are the vigor and growth of the stem and 
branches. Hence when a tree is deprived of a certain 
jDortion of its roots, its supply of food from the soil is les- 
sened, growth is checked, the sap moves slowly in its 
channels, is better elaborated in the leaves, and the young 
branches and buds begin to assume a fruitful character. 

Eoots are also pruned to prevent them from penetrat- 
ing too deeply into the earth, and induce the formation of 
lateral roots near the surface, similar to the cutting back 
of a stem to produce lateral branches ; the principle is the 
same. 

Pruning at the time of Transjjlanting. — ^This is per- 
foiTQcd, not only to remove bruised and broken roots and 
branches, but to restore the tree to a proper balance. As 
trees are ordinarily taken from the ground, the roots are 
bruised, broken, or mutilated, to a greater or less extent. 
This obviously destroys the natural balance or proportion 



88 GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 

that existed between tlie roots and stem, and in such a 
condition the tree is nnable to grow. The demand upon 
the roots must therefore be lessened, by reducing the stem 
and branches in length or number, or both ; and the more 
the roots have suffered, the greater must be the reduction 
of the stem and branches, to bring them to a correspond- 
ing condition. 



PEIJNING MECHANICALLY CONSmEKED. 

Having now treated of the principles on which prim- 
ing depends, it remains to speak of its mechanical execution ; 
for it is not only necessary to know what and why, but 
lioio to prune. Theory is only useful as it serves to guide 
in practice. 

1st. Priming Stems or Brandies. — ^The great point to 
be observed in making incisions on the stems and branches 
of trees, is to provide for the s^^eedy and perfect healing 
of the wounds or cut surfaces. In removing a j^ortion of 
a branch or stem, if we cut between two joints, and thus 
leave a 23ortion of wood above the bud intended to be 
cut to, as in %. 79, this wood dies, and we have the 
trouble of another pruning to remove it. If we cut too 
close to the bud, and thus remove a portion of the wood 
with which it is connected, as in fig. 80, the bud will 
either die or disappoint us by producing a very feeble 
growth. The jDroper way is to take the branch to be 
operated on in the left hand, place the edge of the knife 
on it, opposite the lower part of the bud to be cut to, 
and then make a firm, quick, smooth draw-cut, slop- 
ing upwards, so that the knife will come out on a level 
with the point of the bud, as in fig. 81. In soft- 
wooded, pithy trees, like the grape vine, for example, 
half an inch of wood ought to be left above the bud. 
The cut should also be made as much as possible on \k\Q 



PEIIOTNG. 



89 



lower side of the branch to prevent rain from lodging in 
the centre. The position of the bud cut to, is also worthy 
of consideration in pruning, to produce or modify certain 





80. ? OL 

Figs. 79 to S'2, pruning. 

Fig. 79. cutting too far above the bud. Fig. 80, cutting too close. Fig. 81, 
the cut a.s it should be. Fig. 82. removal of a branch, the cross line indicat- 
ing the proper place for the cut. 

forms. When we wish the new shoot of a lateral branch 
to take, as much as possible, an upriglit direction, we 
prune to a bud on the inside / and if we wish it to sjpread^ 
we choose one on the outside. In the annual supj^ression, 
or cutting back young trees, to form a stem or side 
branches, the bud selected to form the leader is chosen on 
(ypjposite sides every successive year^ in order to maintain 
the gro^i:h in a straight line. If cut every year to a bud 
on the same side, it would, in two or three seasons, show 
an inclination to that side injm-ious to the symmetry of 
the tree. 

The Bemovcd of Large BrancJies^ where they are to be 
entirely separated from the tree, is often very clumsily 
performed. In orchards, it is not at all uncommon to see 
them choj^ped oif with a common axe ; and even in gar- 
dens there seem to be few persons who either know how, 
or take the i^roper care in this matter. They are either 
cut so that a portion of the base of the branch remains, 
and sends out vigorous shoots, defeating the objects of the 



90 



GENERAL PEINCIPLES. 



pruning, or tliey are cut so close tliat a porticm of the 
wood of the main branch or stem is taken with them, 
and a wound made that years are required to heal np. 
Both these extremes ought to be avoided. 

The surface of the cut made by the removal of a branch 
should in no case be larger than the base of the branch. 
Where a branch is nnited to another, or to the main stem, 
we notice both above and below the j^oint of nnion, a 
small 2:>rojection or shoulder, as at the cross line in lig. 82. 
The knife must enter just below that shoulder, and, by 
being drawn upwards in a straight line, the base is so 
completely removed that no shoots can be 23roduced there ; 
and yet the cut surface on the stem is no larger than the 
base of the branch. When the saw is used, the surface 
of the cut should be pared smooth with the knife, to pre- 
vent water lodging on it, and facilitate the healing of the 
womid. 

2d. Priming the Boots.— lihi^ is performed by opening 
a trench aronnd the tree, just at the extremities of the 
roots : the distance from the tree Avill, therefore, depend on 
its size, and the spreading characters of the roots. The 
trench should be the width of a common garden spade, 
and deep enough to admit of an inspection of all the 
roots of the tree. If the lateral roots are to be shortened, 
this is done first. The knife should be placed on the 
lower side of the root, and the part separated with a 
clean draw-cut, such as would be performed on a branch. 
If the tree has vertical, or tap roots, they are most 
easily oj^erated on with a sharp spade, prepared and kept 
for the purpose. A smart stroke witli such a spade, in as 
nearly a horizontal direction as possible, will separate a 
pretty strong root. The extent to which root pruning 
may be performed, depends on the character of the 
species, the condition of the tree as regards growth, and 
the object aimed at. Those practising it for the first time, 



TEUNING. 91 

should go to work witli great caution. It will be better 
to operate too ligbtlj than too severely. As regards the 
season, it may be performed either at the end of the first 
growth, in July or August, or in the autumn or winter, 
when vegetation is quite suspended. We have operated 
on cherry trees with complete success in August, in a dry 
time, wdien little growth was going on. At this season, a 
copious watering should be given after the pruning is per- 
formed. 

Imj^lements of j^i'^^i^ing, and the mode of using them, 
will be treated of in the chapter on implements, to be 
given hereafter. 

The Season fen' Pruning. — "We are not permitted to be 
very definite on this point. The climate, the nature of 
the species, etc., control the period of pruning to a great 
extent. In the south, what we term the winter pruning — 
that performed during the dormant season — may be done 
very soon after the fall of the leaf. In the north, it is 
deferred to February, March, and even April. In western 
i^ew York, we prune apples^ jpeetrs^ and other hardy fruits, 
as soon as our severe frosts are over — say the latter end 
of February and beginning of March. If pruned sooner, 
the ends of the shoots are liable to be injured, and the 
terminal bud so weakened as not to fulfil its pur230ses. 
Besides, the wounds do not heal well. 

T^^ peacli we prune just as the buds begin to swell. 
The fruit and leaf buds are then easily distinguished 
from one another, and the objects of the j^mning are ac- 
complished with more precision. 

Grapes may be pruned any time in the winter, as a 
portion of wood is always left above the bud. Goose- 
herries and curremts also, any time in winter. The 
stone fruits should always be lightly j^runed, because 
severe amputations almost invariably produce the gum. 
"Where it is absolutely necessary in the spring, the w^ound 



92 GENEEAL PEINCirLES. 

should be coated with grafting composition, or with that 
recommended by Mr. Downing : " Alcohol, with sufficient 
gum shellac dissolved in it, to make a liquid of the con- 
sistence of paint, to be put on with a brush." 

This excludes air, and is not affected by changes of 
weather. 

Pinching is a sort of anticipated pruning, practised 
upon the young growing shoots, intended to promote a uni- 
form circulation of the sap, and thus regulate the growth, 
and also to induce fruitfulness. 

1st. To Regulate the Growth. — In the management of 
trees, this is an operation of great imjDortance, as it obvi- 
ates the necessity of heavy amputations being made at the 
winter or spring pruning. Instead of allowing certain 
superfluous or misplaced shoots to acquire their full deve- 
lopment at the expense of other parts, we pinch them 
early, and give to the necessary parts, or branches of the 
tree, the nutriment which they would have appropriated, 
if allowed to remain. In this way, we are able to obtain 
results in one season, that two or more would be required 
for, if w^e depended wholly on the winter pruning. We 
will suppose, for an example, the case of a young nm^sery 
tree in the second year, intended for a standard. In ordi- 
nary cases, the terminal bud, either the natural one or that 
pruned to, is developed into the leading shoot or stem, 
and a greater or less number of buds below it produce 
branches ; and it frequently happens that some of these, if 
not pinched, acquire so much vigor as to injure the leader 
and produce a consequent deformity in the tree. Fig 83 
{A) represents a case of this kind, w^hich is very common, 
and too often neglected. The shoots, <2, <^, ought to have 
been pinched the moment they began to exhibit a dispo- 
sition to outgrow the leader. There are other cases still 
worse than this, familiar to all tree growers ; for instance, 
where a strong shoot is produced on the middle or lower 



PKUNING. 



93 



part of the stem, attracting an undue proportion of the 
sap, thus contracting the growth of all other parts, and 
giving the young tree a deformed character. All such 




Fig. S3 (.4). 



Fig. 83 (B). 



F\g. 83, A, head of a young tree ; B, the leader; a, a, vigorous shoots below 
it, that ought to have been pinched. Fig^. 83, B, a branch of the pear, twice cut 
back with the lateral shoots pinched ; a. a, the first section ; c, c, c, the second ; 
4, and d, d, shoots pinched close to favor the leader,, and those below them. 

shoots as these should be nipped early, the moment their 
character is apparent, and thus a year's growth nearly 
will be saved to the tree, and its proper form and propor- 
tions be preserved. In conducting young trees for pyra- 
mids, the constant and careful application of j)inching is 



9-1: GENERAL PBINCIPLES. 

iibsohitelj necessary, for in tlieni we must have the lower 
branches always the sti-ongest and longest, and it is only 
by oi3erating on the shoots, in their earliest stages of 
growth, that we can fully attain this end ; for the strong- 
est shoots do not always grow at the desired point, bnt by 
timely attention they are perfectly within our control. 
The various accidents and circumstances to which young 
trees are subject, give rise, in a multitude of cases, to an 
unequal distribution of the sap in their diiferent parts, 
and this produces, to a greater or less extent, deformity of 
growth. This, at once, shows the necessity for pinching, 
to check the strong and favor the weak. 

Pinching to promote Fniiffulness. — Those who have 
never practised this, or observed its results, may have 
seen, if experienced in tree growing, that a shoot of which 
the point was broken, bruised, or otherwise injured, dur- 
ing the growing season, frequently becomes a fruit branch, 
either during the same or the following season ; and this, 
especially if situated in the interior of the tree, or on the 
older and lower parts of the branches. The check given 
to the extension of the shoot concentrates the sap in the 
j)art remaining; and, unless the check has been given 
very early in the season, or the growth very vigorous in 
the tree, so that the buds will break and form shoots, 
they are certain to prepare for the production of fruit. It 
is on this principle of checking the growth, and concen- 
trating the sap in the pinched shoot, that pinchiug to in- 
duce fruitfulness is performed ; and its efficiency may be 
estimated from the fact, that trees on which it has been 
practised, have borne fruit four or five, and perhaps seven 
years, sooner than they would have done without it. 

It is a most useful operation in the case of vigorous 
growing and tardy bearing sorts. The best illustration, on 
a large scale in this country, is the specimen plantation of 
pear trees of Messrs. Ilovey & Co., of Boston. A large 



nuiiiberof tliese are pjmmidal in form, and on pear stocks, 
very beautiful trees, indeed the best specimens of the kind 
in any American nursery, and though, now in 1850, only 
7 years old (the oldest), yet they have as a general thing 
produced fruit, and many of them for 2 or 3 years past. 
This result has been obtained by pinching, which has been 
regularly, but not to the fullest extent, practised upon 
them every season. The 7)iode of j>erfonning it^ is to pinch 
off the end of the shoot with the finger and thumb ; if a 
small portion of the remaining part be bruised, no matter, 
it oifers a greater check than if a clean cut were made, 
as in pruning to a bud ; and in the general winter or 
spring pruning ^^'hich follows, the bruised ^^arts can 
be cleanly separated. The thne to perform it depends 
wholly on circumstances. If the object be to regulate 
groAvth, then the time to do it is, when the tendency to 
undue or ill-proportioned growth is first observable, and 
this will be from the time the young shoots are two to 
three inches long and uj^wards. The particular season of 
the year or day of the month will, of course, depend upon 
the carliness or lateness of the season, and on the soil and 
situation as well as on the habits of growth of the species 
or variety to be operated on. The true way is to be always 
on the watch. If the object be to induce fruitfulness, the 
length which the shoots should attain before being pinched, 
depends upon the nature or mode of grovv'th and bearing 
of the sj^ecies, and will be more definitely treated under 
the head of "The Prmiing of Trees," hereafter, the object 
now being merely to indicate general principles and modes 
of operating. To illustrate this, let us suppose the lateral 
branch of a pear tree, (fig. 83, B). This was cut. back the 
first time to J, and below that point five shoots were pro- 
duced, none of which w^ere needed for branches. We, 
therefore, pinched them in June, when about three inches 
long or thereabouts, and the result is, they are now fruit 



96 GENERAL PKINCIPLES. 

branches. The same brancli was cut back the second 
time to d^ d^ and on that section seven shoots were pro- 
duced that were not needed in the form of the tree, and 
w^ere consequently pinched, and will become fruit branches. 
At the 2:>oints J, and c?, <r7, are small spurs, the base of shoots 
that have been pinched close to favor the growth of the 
leader, as well as the development of the shoots below. 
Without pinching it would have been impossible to obtain 
such results in this branch in the same time. 

M. Dubreuil, formerly Professor of Arboriculture in the 
Garden of Plants at Pouen, in France, sums up the general 
principles of pruning as follows. (I may remark here, that 
in 1849, I visited the Pouen garden, and foimd M. Du- 
breuil's theory and practice beautifully illustrated on 
the trees in his charge. My visit was made at the time 
of his practical lectures, and I was able to examine the 
whole with the most satisfactory minuteness. The trees 
there, under all forms, and embracing all the hardy sj^e- 
cies of fruits, were the best that I anywhere found, not 
even excei3ting the much admired and famous pyramidal 
pear trees of M. Cappe, at Paris. They were not only per- 
fect in form, but as regards vigor ^-ixA fruitfulness^ in the 
most admirable condition.) He says : 

" The theory of the pruning of fruit trees rests on the follow- 
ing six general principles : 

" 1 . Tht vigor of a trec^ suljeded to 'pruning^ depends^ in a great 
measure, on the equal distribution of sap in all its branches. 

^' In fruit trees abandoned to themselves, the sap is equally dis- 
tributed in the different parts without any other aid than nature, 
because the tree assumes the form most in harmony with the 
natural tendency of the sap.* 

* This is not in all cases true. Peach trees, we know, left to themselves, 
exhibit a very striking example of the unequal distribution of the sap. The 
ends of the branches attract nearly the whole, leaving the lateral shoots and 



PRUNING. 97 

" But in those submitted to pruning, it is different ; the forms 
imposed on them, such as espalier, pyramid, vase, &c., change 
more or less the normal direction of the sap, and prevent it from 
taking the form proper to its species. Thus nearly all the forms 
given to trees require the development of ramifications more or 
less numerous, and of greater or less dimensions at the base of the 
stem. And, as the sap tends by preference towards the summit 
of the tree, it happens that, unless great care be taken, the 
branches at the base become feeble, and finally dry up, and the 
form intended to be obtained disappears, to be replaced by the 
natural form, that is a stem or a trunk with a branching head. 
It is then indispensable, if we wish to preserve the form we im- 
pose upon trees, to employ certain means, by the aid of which 
the natural direction of the sap can be changed and directed 
towards the points where we wish to obtain the most vigorous 
growth. To do this we must arrest vegetation in the parts to 
which the sap is carried in too great abundance, and on the con- 
trary favor the parts that do not receive enough. To accomplish 
this the following means must be successively employed. 

" 1. Prune the branches of the most vigorous parts very short , 
and those of the weak parts long. We know that the sap is at- 
tracted by the leaves. The removal of a large number of wood- 
buds from the vigorous parts, deprives these parts of the leaves 
which these buds would have produced ; consequently the sap is 
attracted there in less quantities, and the growth thereby dimi- 
nished. The feeble parts being pruned long, present a great num- 
ber of buds, which produce a large surface of leaves, and these 
attract the sap and acquire a vigorous growth. This principle 
holds good in all trees, under whatever form they may be con- 
ducted. 

" 2. Leave a large quantity of fruit on the strong part^ and 
remove the ichole^ or greater part^ from the feeble. We know 
already that the fruit has the property of attracting to it the sap 
fiom the roots, and of employing it entirely to its own growth. 

lower parts to die out. In other species, similar instances might be quoted, 
and as a general thing, the proposition is unsound, except in a comparative 
sense. 

5 



98 GENEEAL PEINCIPLES. 

The necessary result of this is, what we are about to point out, 
viz., that all the sap which arrives in the strong parts, will be ab- 
sorbed by the fruits, and the wood there, in consequence, will 
make but little growth, while on the feeble part, deprived of 
fruits, the sap will all be appropriated by the growing parts, and 
they will increase in size and strength. 

" 3. Bend the strong parts and keep the weak erect. The more 
erect the branches and stem are, the greater will be the flow of 
sap to the growing parts ; hence, the feeble parts being erect, 
attract much more sap than the strong parts inclined, and, con- 
sequently, make a more vigorous growth, and soon recover their 
balance. This remedy is more especially applied to espalier 
trees. 

" 4. Remove from the vigorous parts the superjiuous shoots as 
early in the season as possible, and from the feeble parts as late as 
possible. The fewer the number of young shoots there are on a 
branch, the fewer there are of leaves, and consequently the less is 
the sap attracted there. Hence, in leaving the young shoots on 
the feeble part, their leaves attract the sap there, and induce a 
vigorous growth. 

" 5. Pinch early the soft extremities of the shoots on the vigorous 
parts, and as late as possible on the feeble parts, excepting always 
any shoots which may be too vigorous for their position. By thus 
pinching early the strong part, the flow of sap to that point is 
checked, and naturally turns to the growing parts that have not 
been pinched ; this remedy is applicable to trees in all forms. 

" 6. Lay in the strong shoots on the trellis eurly, and leave the 
feeble parts loose as long as possible. Laying in the strong parts 
obstructs the circulation of the sap in them, and consequently 
favors the weak parts that are loose. This is only applicable to 
espaliers. 

"7. In espalier trees, giving the feeble parts the benefit of the 
light, and confining the strong parts more in the shade, restores a 
balance, for light is the agent which enables leaves to perform 
their functions and their action on the roots, and the parts receiv- 
ing the greatest proportion of it acquire the most vigorous de- 
velopment. 



pEUNiNG. yy 

2. " The sap acts with greater force and produces more vigorous 
growth on a branch or shoot pruned short, than on one pruned long. 
This is easily explained. The sap acting on two buds must 
evidently produce a greater development of wood on them, than 
if it were divided between fifteen or twenty buds. 

" It follows from this, that if we wish to obtain wood branches, 
we prune short, for vigorous shoots produce few fruit buds. On 
the contrary, if we wish to obtain fruit branches, we prune long, 
because the most slender or feeble shoots are the most disposed 
to fruit. 

" Another application of this principle is to prune short for a 
year or two, such trees or parts as have become enfeebled by 
overbearing. (This principle deserves especial attention, as its 
application is of great importance.) 

3. '' The sap tending always to the extremities of the shoots causes 
the terminal hud to push with greater vigor than the laterals. Ac- 
cording to this principle, when we wish a prolongment of a stem 
or branch, we should prune to a vigorous wood bud, and leave no 
production that can interfere witft the action of the sap on it. 

4. " The more the sap is olstructed in its circulation, the m.ore 
likely it will he to produce fruit buds. This principle is founded 
on a fact to which we have already had occasion to refer, viz. — 
that the sap circulating slowly is subjected to a more complete 
elaboration in the tissues of the tree, and becomes better adapted 
to the formation of fruit buds. 

" This principle can be applied to produce the following result: 
When we wish to produce fruit buds on a branch, we prevent a free 
circulation of the sap by bending the branches, or by making annu- 
lar or circular incisions on it ; and on the contrary, when we 
wish to change a fruit branch into a wood branch, we give it a 
vertical position, or prune it to two or three buds, on which we 
concentrate the action of the sap and thus induce their vigorous 
development. 

5. '^ The leaves serve to prepare the sap absorbed by therootsfor 
the nourishment of the tree, arid aid the formation of buds on the 
shoots. All trees, therefore, deprived of their leaves are liable to 
perish. This principle shows how dangerous it is to remove a 



100 GENERAL PEmCIPLES. 

large quantity of leaves from trees, under the pretext of aiding 
the growth or ripening of fruits, for the leaves are the nourishing 
organs, and the trees deprived of them cannot continue to grow, 
neither can the fruit ; and the branches so stripped will have feeble, 
ill-formed buds, which will, the following year, produce a weak 
and sickly growth. 

6. ^' Where the buds of any shoot or branch do not develope 
before the age of two years^ they can only be forced into activity 
by a very close pruning^ and in some cases^ as the peach, this even 
will often fail. This last principle shows the importance of prun- 
ing the main branches of espaliers particularly, so as to ensure 
the development of the buds of their successive sections, and to 
preserve well the side shoots thus produced, for without this, the 
interior of the tree will become naked and unproductive, and 
a remedy will be very difficult." 

If these principles and practices of pmning be carefully 
studied in connection with the habits of growth and bear- 
ing of the different fruit trees, pruning will be compara- 
tively an easy matter. The mode of obtaining any par- 
ticular form or character cannot fail to be perfectly plain 
and simple ; yet no one need hope to accomplish, in all 
things, the precise results aimed at, for even the most 
skilful operator is sometimes disappointed : but those w^ho 
give constant attention to their trees, will always discover 
a failure in tim^e to apply a remedy. 

I insist upon it, because I have been taught it by most 
abundant experience, that the most unremitting watch- 
fulness is necessary in conducting trees in particular 
forms. It is not, by any means, lahor that is required ; 
but attention that the most delicate hand can perform, 
fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, say three times a 
week during active grow^th, will be sufficient to examine 
every shoot on a moderate collection of garden trees ; for 
the eye very soon becomes trained so well to the work, 
that a glance at a tree will detect the parts that are either 
too strong or too weak, or that in any way require atten- 



PRUNrXG. 101 

tion. This is one of the most interesting features in the 
management of garden trees. We are never allowed to 
forget them. From day to day they require some atten- 
tion, and offer some new point of interest that attracts us 
to them, and augments our solicitude for their prosperity, 
until it actually grows into enthusiasm. 



PART II. 



THE NURSERY 



THE NURS ER Y. 

CHAPTEE I. 

Section 1. — Soil, Situation, etc. 

It is not a part of the design of this treatise to give 
anything like a full exj)osition of nursery operations ; for 
this would, in itself, be a subject sufficiently extensive to 
form a volume ; but as all fruit growers should possess at 
least some knowledge of nm-sery management, it seems 
quite necessary that the more important points should be 
noticed. 

1st. The Soil^ as to Dryness. — For a fruit tree nursery 
the soil must be ])erfectly dry^ both above and below. In 
damp, springy soils, or where the subsoil is so compact as 
not to admit of the surface w^ater j^assing off immediately, 
trees do not thrive, the roots are destitute of fibres, the 
wood is watery and delicate, and where frosts are severe 
the trees are cast out of the ground by the expansion of 
the water with which the soil is filled. "We have kno^vn 
of a single instance in which several thousand dollars 
were lost by planting a pear nursery on a soil imperfectly 
drained. The plants grew finely the first season, were 
budded, the buds had taken, and in the autumn all looked 
prosperous : but the autumn rains filled the soil with 
water, the situation was low and level, and the subsoil 
compact, so that the water could not possibly get away. 
The consequence was, the roots decayed, the plants were 

cast out of the ground, and the injury was so great and 

«^ ji - - 



106 THE NUESERT. 

SO general that the whole plantation had to be taken up. 
This ground was then thoroughly drained, and is now as 
good a pear soil as can be found — a stock of beautiful 
trees standing on it at the present time. This single in- 
stance illustrates the im]3ortance of a dry soil, as well as 
twenty would. We frequently find that in the same row 
of trees, if there happens to be a low, damp spot, the 
trees in it have no fibrous roots, and are altogether inferior 
to those on the adjacent dry ground. 

2d. Depth. — As a general thing, the soil of a nursery 
should be a foot to eighteen inches deep ; but all trees do 
not require the same dej)th. Those (such as the pear) 
whose roots descend more than they spread.^ require the 
deepest soil. The best quality of nursery trees are grown 
on common farming land, twice ploughed with the com- 
mon and subsoil ploughs, one following the other, as de- 
scribed in the chapter on soils. This gives depth enough 
for all ordinary purposes. 

3d. Texture. — A soil of medium texture between the 
heavy and the light, is, on the whole, the most advan- 
tageous, as being the best adapted to general purposes. 
A good friable loam, with a gravelly subsoil, or a mixture 
of sand, gravel, and clay, that will allow water to pass 
off freely, and yet not too fast, will be found suitable for 
almost any species ; and one great advantage of such a 
soil is, that it admits of rotation in crops. 

4th. Quality. — For the growth of young fruit trees, a soil 
should be in such a condition as to furnish a sufficient sup- 
ply of nutriment to ensure a vigorous and robust growth ; 
but it may be too rich, and produce rank wood that will 
not mature properly, and be imable to withstand the 
change of climate or soil consequent upon transplanting. 
"Where manures are used, they should be well decom- 
posed ; fresh warm manures excite trees into a very rapid 
growth, but the wood is watery and feeble. A dry soil of 



SOIL. 107 

moderate richness produces hardy trees, their wood is firm, 
the buds plump and close together, and the parts well pro- 
portioned. 

5. Laying out. — Where the nursery is of considerable 
extent, the ground should be laid out and arranged in 
square or rectangular plots of convenient size, and be 
intersected with walks. One portion should be set apart 
for the propagation of stocks from layers, another for cut- 
tings, another for seeds, &c. In setting apart ground for 
the different kinds of trees, if there be a choice, the pear 
should have the deepest and best, the plum the most com- 
pact or clayey, the peach, apricot, cherry, &c., the lightest 
and dry est. 

6. JExjyosure. — I^ursery ground for fruit trees should be 
well elevated, but not fully exposed to the prevailing high 
winds, as the young trees are apt to be broken off during 
the first year's growth if not kept well tied up to stakes. 
In om- section we find it very advantageous to have some 
protection from the west winds especially, though we 
sometimes have a south wind quite destructive in exposed 
places to the young buds. Situations where snow is liable 
to drift into, should be avoided, in sections where heavy 
snow storms prevail, for sometimes vast quantities of trees 
are broken down in corners of fences and sheltered situa- 
tions where the snow accumulates in heavy drifts. 

T. Rotation or Sicccession of Crops. — ^This is quite as 
important in the management of the nursery as of the farm. 
Not more than one crop of one species should be planted 
on the same ground ; and those of the most oj)posite 
character should follow one another. Where one species 
is grown on the same ground for eight or ten years, it is 
found by experience that even the most liberal manuring 
fails to produce such fine, sound, healthy, and vigorous 
trees as new ground without manure. Where land is 
scarce, and it is necessary to use the same ground for the 



108 THE NUESERY. 

same kind of trees, it should at least be allowed one season's 
rest, and be well stipplied with such material as the trees 
to be grown in it require in the largest quantities, or in 
which the soil is found to be most deficient. 

Section 2. — Desceiption and Peopagation of Stocks. 

This branch of the subject is of snch importance, and 
involves so many considerations, that it seems to be more 
methodical to treat it separate from subsequent operations. 

1st. Stocks for the A^jole. — ^The principal stocks in nse 
for the apple are the common seedling^ or free stock., the 
Doucain., and the Paradise. 

Seedlings.^ or free stocks., are ordinarily produced from 
seeds taken promiscuously from the cider mill in the 
autumn. 

Preparing the Seed. — ^The cakes of pressed pomace 
are broken up, and the coarser materials, straw, &c., sepa- 
rated from it by means of a coarse sieve, the sifted pomace 
is then put into large tubs, and subjected to repeated 
washings until clean. The clean plump seed falls to the 
bottom, and the pomace and light poor seed are carried 
off in the washings. When fruits have been selected for 
the seeds, they are placed in heaps until fermentation and 
decay have reduced the flesh to a soft pulpy state, when 
they are washed in tubs, in the same manner as pomace. 

Saving the Seed. — When the seed is washed out as 
above, it must be spread thinly on boards, and repeatedly 
turned over until perfectly dry, when it is put away in 
boxes, mixed with sand, containing a slight degree of 
moisture. The boxes should be w^ell secured against ver- 
min, and be kept in a dry, cool place, till the time of 
planting. 

Season and Mode of Planting. — If the ground be in 
readiness, and perfectly dry and friable, the best time is 



PKOPAGATION OF STOCKS. 109 

the fall, as soon as the seeds are cleaned. At this season 
the pomace, seeds and all, as it comes from the press, maj 
be planted without any washing. It should be broken 
up fine, so that it may be evenly distributed in the seed 
bed. The difficulty of doing this, is a serious objection to 
this mode. By taking some pains in the sowing, we raise 
as good stocks in this as in any other way; the decayed 
pulp contributes considerable nutriment to the young 
plants in their earliest stage of growth. 

When deferred till spring, it should be done at the 
earliest moment that the condition of the ground will ad- 
mit. When the ground is ready, a line is stretched along 
one side of the plot, and a drill opened with a hoe about 
eight or ten inches wide and three deep ; the seeds are 
then dropped, and the fine earth drawn over them with 
the hoe as regular as possible, covering them about three 
inches deep. If some leaf mould from the woods or old 
decomposed manure in a fit state for spreading could be 
had, and a covering of an inch deep of it sjDread on the 
top of the drills, it would prevent the surface from baking 
or cracking, and allow the plants to come up with greater 
strength and regularity. Whatever depth of such a cover- 
ing be used, should be deducted from the covering of 
common earth. 

Distance to Plant. — ^When large quantities are raised, 
the drills should be three feet apart to admit of the culti- 
vator passing between them ; for the ground should be 
kept j)erfectly clean and mellow around seedlings the 
whole season. 

Afiei' Management. — It is of great importance that they 
be not in any way stunted, either in first coming through 
the soil by a hard sm-face, or afterwards by weeds and 
lack of culture ; seedlings stunted during the early stages 
of their growth never make vigorous, healthy stocks, and 
indeed should never be planted. When they appear 



110 THE NUKSERT. 

above tlie surface and are too close together, tliey should 
as soon as possible be thinned out to regular distances ; 
for when grown up in dense masses, they are generally 
feeble and w^orthless. One hundred good vigorous stocks 
are worth live hundred poor ones. It is very common to 
see seedlings of one year larger than those of two years, 
under different management, and in such a case the year- 
lings are worth twice as much as the others. A very good 
plan is to thin out all the weakest j^lants when about four 
or five inches high, leaving those only of vigorous habit 
and large foliage. 

The Doucain is a distinct species of apple ; the tree is 
of medium size, bears small sweet fruit, and reproduces 
itself from seed. It is used for stocks for apple trees of 
medium ^ylq^ jpyramids^ or dtoarf standards for gardens. 
It is propagated almost exclusively from layers ; see fig. 
63. The plants to be propagated from are planted in a 
rich deep friable soil, and cut back to within four to six 
inches of the collar ; the buds, or the part below the cut, 
will, during the next season, produce strong shoots ; the 
following spring the earth is drawn up around each plant 
in the form of a mound, so that the whole of the stem and 
the base of all the shoots will be covered at least three 
inches deep ; during that season all the shoots will pro- 
duce roots, and should be separated from the mother plant 
or stool, as such plants are termed, in the fall. If left on 
till sj^ring the frost w^ould be likely to injure them. The 
stools are then dressed, the soil around them is spaded up 
and enriched with well decayed manure, and the follow- 
ing season another crop of shoots is produced, much 
more numerous than the first, to be treated in the same 
way. Every year these stool plants increase in size and 
in the quantity of their productions, if well treated. 
Another course, but not so good, is frequently pursued 
w^hen stocks are scarce. The shoots are layered, by bend- 



PROPAGATION OF STOCKS. Ill 

ing down as described in layering, the first season of their 
growth in July, and may be sufficiently rooted in the fall 
to be transferred to nursery rows in the spring following ; 
a year is thus saved, but the stocks are, of course, much 
inferior. If earthed up in midsummer, they will be par- 
tially rooted in the autumn too, but not so w^ell as if bent 
down, for the bending has a tendency to stop the sap at 
the point fastened to the ground, and hastens the forma- 
tion of roots. 

Tlie Paradise. — This also is a distinct species of apple. 
The tree is of very small size, never attaining over three 
to four feet in height. It is used for stocks for dwarf 
trees or bushes that occupy but a small space in the gar- 
den. It is propagated in precisely the same manner as 
that described for the Doucain. 

2d. Stocks for the Pear. — ^The pear seedling and the 
quince are the only two stocks on w^hich the pear can be 
advantageously w' orked to any considerable extent. The 
mountain ash and the thorn are occasionally used for 
special purposes only. 

Pear Seedlings. — ^The seeds are obtained by collecting 
such fruits as can be had, containing perfect seeds. Great 
care should be taken to gather the fruits of hardy, 
healthy, vigorous trees only, and the seeds should be full 
and plump. The seeds are separated and w^ashed, as de- 
scribed for apples. They are also saved and planted in a 
manner similar in all respects ; but in this country it is a 
much more difficult matter to succeed with pear seedlings 
than w^ith the apple. This difficulty is owing chiefly to a 
species of rust or blight that attacks the leaves of the 
young plants, very often before they have completed their 
first season's grow^th. To obviate the difficulty which this 
malady j^resents, a vigorous growth should be obtained 
early in the season. IS'ew soil, or that in which trees 
have not been grown in l^efore, should be selected. The 



112 THE NrESERY, 

autumn before planting, it should be trenclied or subsoil 
ploughed to the depth of two feet, for the pear has long 
tap roots, and liberally enriched with a compost of stable 
manure, leaf mould or muck^ and wood ashes^ in about 
equal parts : four inches deep of this spread over the sur- 
face before ploughing, will be sufficient for any ordinary 
soil. Lime should also be given liberally, unless the soil 
be naturally and strongly calcareous. A soil prepared 
thus in the fall, will require another ploughing or spading 
in the spring, to mix all the materials properly with the 
soil, and fit it for the seeds. Where large quantities are 
grown, the drills may be the same distance apart as that 
recommended for apples, three feet ; but if only a few, 
twelve to eighteen inches will be sufficient, as the clean- 
ing can be done with the hoe. The seeds should be scat- 
tered thinly, that every plant may have sufficient space 
without any thinning. From time to time we find re- 
gular recipes given for raising pear seedlings, with the 
same precision that pudding recipes are given in the 
cook books. Bo7ie dust^ 'blacksmiths' cinders^ muck^ lime^ 
wood ashes^ and half a dozen other things, are recom- 
mended to be compounded in pecks and half pecks, all 
with a view to remedy the rust or leaf blight that no 
man can say originates in any defect of the soil. The 
cause may be in the atmosphere, or it may be an insect, 
or it may be something else, for aught anybody yet 
knows to the contrary. The end to aim at, as before re- 
marked, is to get good growth, say eighteen to twenty 
inches in height, and stout in proportion, before the first 
of August. This can be done in any deeply-trenched, 
fresh soil, well prepared and manured as described above. 
During the past season, a lot of very fine seedling pears 
were raised in fresh, new soil, in Ontario county ; their 
foliage was quite fresh when the frosts came, and they 
had received no special manuring either. Pear seedlings 



PEOPAGATION OF STOCKS. 113 

should always be taken up in the fall, after the first 
season's growth, the largest selected for transplanting 
into the nursery, and the smaller to be put into beds, to 
remain another season. 

Quince Stocks are proj)agated with considerable success 
by cuttings. These should be strong shoots, six inches to 
a foot long, taken off close to the old wood, and, if pos- 
sible, with a small portion attached, prepared as directed 
in article on cuttings, early in the winter, and kept in pits 
two or three feet below the surface of the soil, in a dry 
place, till planting time in spring. They should be 
planted in a lig/it, fiiahle, deep soil^ in rows eighteen 
inches to two feet apart, four to six inches apart in the 
row, and so deep that but a couple of buds remain above 
the sm-face. The ground should be kept clean and mel- 
low amongst them all summer, and if the cuttings were 
stout and long, they will in the autumn be fit for taking 
up and preparing for planting into nursery rows the fol- 
lowing spring. The best and surest method of propagat- 
ing the quince stock, however, is by layers^ as the best 
variety for that purpose does not strike so freely from cut- 
tings as the common sorts. The manner of layering is 
that recommended for the Doucain and paradise^ by 
earthing up. The stool j^lants should be set out in a fine, 
rich, deep border of warm, friable soil, and be about six 
feet apart, when designed to be permanent. As each stool, 
by the system recommended, can only yield a crop of 
plants every two years, there should be two sets, so that 
an annual supply may be obtained. 

By the ordinary system of bending down the shoots, 
and slitting, or even without the slitting, a croj) may be 
obtained every year, that is, the shoots of the current sea- 
son's growth may be layered in July or August, but no 
such stocks can be obtained as by the earthing up and 



114 THE NtlESERT. 

taking a crop every two years. Tliis is tlie system recom- 
mended to those who want^^^^^ rate quince stocks. 

The very general lack of information in this country on 
the subject of quince stocks for pears has given rise to a 
great many misapprehensions and erroneous statements in 
regard to them, both by horticultural writers and others. 
At first it was said that the stock used by the French and 
imported by nurserymen here were the Portugal. Again, 
it was discovered they were nothing more than the com- 
mon apple quince ; consequently a multitude of the apple 
quinces have been worked, and sent out as " dwarf pears. "^"^ 
The slow and feeble growth of this variety unfits it entirely 
for a stock for the pear, and only a very few varieties will 
form a union with it that will last over three or four years. 
Such trees cannot fail to give general dissatisfaction, and 
among people who know no better, create a prejudice 
against quince stocks in geceral. Indeed this is the cause 
why so much has been said about the pears on quince 
being so short-lived. 

The truth is, that the varieties used in France are nei- 
ther the Apple nor the Portugal Quince, but vigorous 
hybrids that have been originated there, and found to 
answer this purpose particularly well. The great requisite 
of a quince stock for the pear is 2ifree^vigorous and rapid 
growth. A variety originated at the town of Angers in 
France, and extensively used, propagated and sold there, 
as the Angers Quince^ is probably the best yet known for 
a pear stock generally. It is a very rapid, vigorous grower, 
making strong shoots three feet long in one season. It has 
large foliage resembling the Portugal. In some parts of 
France, as in [N^ormandy*, it is known as the hroad-leaved. 
There is another variety with smaller leaves, but of free, 
vigorous growth too, almost exclusively cultivated in some 
districts. Several extensive nurserymen at Orleans, Paris, 
and elsewhere, consider it superior to the broad-leaved, 



PEOPAGATION OF STOCKS. 115 

and es])ecially for very vigorous growing sorts. It is 
known as the small-leaved. 

We have tried both extensively, and find but very little 
difference thus far in the results obtained. We are now 
engaged in experiments testing the fitness of another 
variety qnite distinct in its character, habits of growth, 
&c., from all the others. It is remarkably erect, with a 
bushy, branching head, and roots composed almost entirely 
of fine fibres. Every cutting grows when other sorts are a 
complete failure ; and a cutting made of a stout shoot set 
in the ground in April may be budded in September. The 
largest plants we have are but three years old ; and judg- 
ing from these, it will not attain so large a size as the 
Angers, but the pear seems to unite well with it, and we 
believe it will make an excellent stock, for free growing 
kinds particularly. It is yet too soon, however, to decide 
upon its merits in any respect, except that of being easily 
propagated. 

The Mountain Ash, it is said, makes a good stock for 
certain varieties in very light, sandy soils, when neithc/ 
the pear nor quince succeeds well. It is propagated from 
seed, and requires to be two years old before being worked. 

The Thorn. — Seedlings of our vigorous native thorns 
make good stocks when about three years old ; the seeds 
require to be in the rot heap one year before sowing. The 
only cases in which it can be recommended, are those in 
which a soil may be so wet and cold as to be unfit for the 
pear or quince ; but it is better to improve such soils by 
draining, subsoil ploughing, and by the addition of suitable 
composts, for even the thorn will fail in giving satisfac- 
tion on a stiff, cold soil. 

3d. Stocks for the Cherry. — ^The principal stocks used 
for the cherry are the Tnazzard for standard orchard trees, 
and the mahaleb for garden pyi-amids and dwarfs. 

Mazzard Seedlings. — ^Tlie mazzard cherry is a lofty, 



116 THE NUESEEY. 

rapid-growing, pyramidal-headed tree. Its frnit is small, 
dark brown, or black, with a sprightly flavor and slight 
bitterness. It is the original type of all the heart varie- 
ties. 

Preparing and saving the Seeds. — ^The fruit is allowed 
to remain on the tree nntil thoroughly ripe. It is then 
shaken or picked off, and put into tubs, where the pulp is 
washed off until the stones are perfectly clean. They 
are then spread out on boards, and turned over occasion- 
ally until dry, when they are put away in boxes, mixed 
with sand very slightly moist. A layer of sand is spread 
in the bottom of the box, then a thin layer of the stones, 
next a layer of sand, and so on till the box is full. The 
boxes are secured against vermin, and put away in a cool, 
dry place, until needed for planting. If not planted in the 
fall, they may be wintered in a cellar, or out of doors, 
protected from rain by boards or other covering. 

When to Plant. — If circumstances w^ere favorable, all 
seeds would be better planted in the fall, or immediately 
after their maturity, l^ature, in her course, indicates this 
to be a general law ; but in cultivation this must depend 
on circumstances. The ground may not be in readiness. 
It may be so wet and heavy, that seeds would be so satu- 
rated with moisture during the winter as to lose their 
vitality; or the ground might become so beaten down 
and compact with fall, winter, and early spring rains, as 
to make it almost impossible for the young plants to make 
their way through it. All these things are to be con- 
sidered in deciding the proper time to sow seeds. If the 
soil be very light and porous, cherry seeds may be sown 
as soon as gathered; if the contrary, it should be 
deferred till spring : but they germinate early and at a 
iow temperature, so that it is necessary to keep them 
pretty dry and cool, and get them into the ground at the 
earliest practicable moment. We find it quite difficult to 



PROPAGATION OF STOCKS. 117 

keej) them properly, and yet prevent them from germinat- 
ing before the ground is dry enough to receive them. 

How to Plant. — For cherry seeds the ground should be 
ligJit.^ in a good fertile state, but not strongly manured. 
The seeds are sown in drills as recommended for apple 
and pear seeds, and so thin as to give each plant space to 
grow in without being crowded by others. In this way, 
and with clean summer culture, the stocks will all be 
large enough at the end of the first season's growth, to be 
taken up and prej)ared for planting in nursery rows the 
following spring. 

The Mahaleb (Cerasus mahaleb) is a small tree w^ith 
£>'lossy, deejD green foliage. The fruit is black, about the 
size of a marrow-fat pea, and quite bitter. It blossoms and 
bears fruit when about three years old. It is considerably 
cultivated in many parts of Europe, as an ornamental 
lawn tree. There are very few bearing trees in this 
country yet ; consequently nearly all the stocks used are 
imported, or grown from imported seeds. 

The seeds are prepared, saved, sown, and managed in 
all respects similar to the mazzards, and are fit for trans- 
ferring to the nursery rows at the end of the first season's 
growth. 

The common red -pie cherry and the small morello make 
very good stocks for dwarf trees of the duke and morello 
classes ; but the hearts and Bigarreaus do not take on 
them. These are raised from seed in the same way as the 
mazzards and mahalebs. It may be added, however, as a 
Vv-arning, that buds are more liable to fail on them than 
on the mahaleb. 

4th. Stocks for the Peach. — As a general thing the 
peach is worked on its own stocks in this country. The 
stones should be placed in a state of stratification during 
the winter, placed in boxes with alternate layers of sand 
or light earth, and be kept in a situation exposed to the 



lis • THE NtJESEEY. 

frost; imless this is done they will not germinate the fol- 
lowing spring ; they require more moisture and exposure 
to open their hard shells, and induce germination, than any 
other fruit seeds. They should be examined a w^eek or 
two before planting time, and if they exhibit no signs of ve- 
getation more moisture should be given them ; if they have 
been kept dry for a month or two before being stratified, 
they may require to be cracked. This is done by placing 
the edge of the stone on a wooden block and striking with 
a mallet; when cracked they may be mixed with moist 
earth and germinated in a warm place. The growth of 
every one so germinated can be depended on, and the 
row^s will be regular. As the seeds are planted where 
the trees remain until transferred to the garden or orchard, 
it is a very good plan to nip off the point of the young root 
protruded from the seed ; this makes it ramify, so that 
when taken up the trees have fine branched and fibrous 
roots instead of long tap roots, as is very generally the 
case. 

Planting. — 'The seeds should be put into the ground as 
soon in the spring as it is in a fit state to be worked. A 
line is stretched, and holes made with a dibble to receive 
the seed ; it should be put in with the root downwards, 
and be covered not over one fourth of an inch deep. 

Plum Stocks are used for the peach in soils of a stiff, 
adhesive character, in which the peach does not succeed. 
In England the peach is worked almost exclusively on the 
plum, as it suits their moist climate and soil better. In 
France the hard shell almond is used almost exclusively 
on dry^ and the plum on damp soils. Almond stocks are 
raised in the same way as the peach. 

Dwarf Peach Trees are produced by working on the 
same stocks recommended for dwarfing the plum. Some 
time ago a French journal gave a very interesting account 
of experiments made in dwarfing the peach and plum, by 



PROPAGATION OF STOCKS. 119 

a Dr. Bretonneau of Tours, France. He had succeeded 
in producing very pretty dwarf plums and peach trees on 
a dwarf plum indigenous to this country {Prunus ;pum.ila) 
He exhibited beautiful prolific dwarf trees of the green 
gage plum on the sloe, and was making farther experi- 
ments with the dwarf almond as a stock for peaches. 
These subjects are all worthy of attention; we have many 
experiments of this kind under way, but it is yet too soon 
to communicate the results. The art of growing a large 
collection of fruits on a small spot of ground is of great 
importance to curious and tasteful people living in towns 
and villages. 

Stocks for the Apricot and Nectarine. — ^Every thing 
that has been said of peach stocks, applies with equal 
force and propriety to these two trees. 

5. Stocks for the Plum. — It is not a little difficult in 
this country to get good plum stocks. If seeds be taken 
promiscuously from any variety that is to be had, as is 
done with most other trees, the probability is, that of the 
seedlings not one in 500 will be suitable for a stock. I 
have seen bushels of seeds planted that were said to have 
been collected from strong growing trees, but out of the 
tens of thousands of seedlings produced from them, not 
100 were ever worked, or fit to be. It is not only neces- 
saiy to obtain seeds from vigorous growing trees, but from 
a species or variety that reproduces itself from seed. This 
is the point. 

The Horse Plmn^ an oval, purple, free-stone sort, with 
vigorous downy shoots, reproduces itself from seed, and 
makes good stocks. On a suitable, well-prepared soil, its 
seedlings often attain two feet or more in height in one 
season, and are then fit for the nursery rows. They require 
a rich, substantial soil, prepared as recommended for pear 
seeds. Other vigorous sorts have been recommended in 
various parts of the country, but on trial they have been 



120 THE NUJJSEEY. 

found quite inferior to the horse plum, and as a general 
thing worthless. 

The Canada or Wild Phcm^ which abounds in Ohio, 
Michigan, and other western States, are distinct species, 
and reproduce themselves from seed. The seedlings of 
some grow extremely rapid, making fine stocks in one 
year on any good soil. They continue in a thrifty, growing 
state until late in the autumn ; but they should not be 
worked above the ground in the usual way, as their growth 
does not keep pace with the species to which most of our 
cultivated sorts belong. The best way to manage them is 
to take the yearling seedlings, whip-graft them on the 
collar, and set them out at once in the nursery rows ; they 
will make good trees for planting out in three years. 
The stock is all below the surface of the ground, and in 
time the graft sends out roots and becomes in a great mea- 
sure independent of the stock. Where the seedlings are 
not large enough for grafting the first season, they may be 
set out in the nursery and allowed to grow one season, and 
then the earth can be removed from the collar until the 
graft be inserted, and then drawn up. To procure strong 
stocks for standard trees of weak growing sorts, like the 
Green Gage^ such thi-ifty varieties as the Lnjyerial Gage 
and Smithes Orleans may be grafted on this native species, 
and in two or three years they will make stocks strong 
enough for any purpose. The French use several natural 
species that are produced from seed — the St. Jidien^ 
large and small (Brussels of the English), and the Damas 
noir^ large and small. Tlie first is generally used for stocks 
for apricots and peaches as well as plums. We find none 
of these superior in vigor to the horse plum, but they are 
worked more successfully. In England, the Brussels^ 
Bronvpton^ and Muscle stocks are used, propagated from 
both seeds and layers. For small sized garden trees^ 
either dwarf standards or pyramids, the cherry plum 



PROPAGATION OF STOCKS. 121 

makes a very good stock. It is probably the same as used 
by the French under the names of " Cericette" and " Myro- 
balan." Several of our authors and even some English 
writers say that the Mirahelle is the stock used for dwarf- 
ing \\\Q jplum^])^^''^^^ ^'^^ apricot^ but it seems probable that 
they are mistaken. In France the cericette or cherry 
})lum is used, and stocks sent us from England as Mira- 
belle, are but the cherry. 

How the mistake could be made is difficult to say, for 
the two trees are as different in habit, foliage, wood and 
fruit, as they can be. The cherry plum is a very low tree 
with bushy, erect branches, very straight, slender, willow- 
like, reddish shoots, exceedingly small leaves and buds, 
and smooth bark. The Mirahelle is also a low tree, but 
much more spreading than the other ; the shoots are 
stouter, of a gray color and downy, with rather prominent 
buds for so small shoots. It ripens in September, and the 
cherry a month sooner. 

The cherry plum is a natural species, and can there- 
fore be produced true from seed. It maintains a vigorous 
growth all summer, and may be w^orked in July, August, 
or September. It may also be propagated from layers. 

The Sloe is also used to some extent where very small 
trees are wanted, and we have no doubt some native spe- 
cies, as for instance the Beach and Chicasaiv plums, small 
trees, will make good dwarf stocks. I am inclined to 
think, however, that very nice garden trees maybe raised 
on the smaller species of the Canada Plum. The first 
year's growth and even the second are quite vigorous on 
them, but after that the vigor diminishes, and the trees 
become quite prolific. This and the cherry plum will 
probably become our princi]3al stocks for dwarfing. 

Plums for seeds should ripen well on the tree ; they are 
then gathered, the pulp washed off, and the seeds dried 
and put away in boxes of sand in alternate layers, af* 




122 THE NUKSEEY 

recommended for cherries. They may be saved in fall or 
spring as cii'cumstances already mentioned will admit. 

ISTearly all j^lnms nsed for stocks may be propagated by 
layers. Mother plants or stools are planted out and cut 
back as recommended for paradise, &c. ; the shoots of the 
previous season's growth are j)egged down in the spring 
flat, and two inches of earth drawn over them. Every 
bud on these layers will produce a shoot that, generally, 
will be well enough rooted in the fall to be separated from 
the stool and planted out into nursery rows the following 
spring. These layered shoots are cut off close to the old 
plant, and the upright shoots produced during the previ- 
ous season may be again pegged clown. 

The stools or mother plants managed in this way require 
the best treatment to maintain their vigor, that a supply 
of strong shoots may be produced every season fit to lay 
down in the spring. Weak, slender shoots, unfit to layer, 
should be cut out early in the season to aid the growth of 
those intended for use. This usually goes by the name of 
Chinese Layering. 

Section 3. — ^Tkansplanting Stocks. 

This comprehends three separate operations, talcing wp, 
dressing or pruning, and replanting; but before touching 
on the detail of these operations, it may be w^ell to con- 
sider 

1st. The age at which Stocks should he transplafited. — 
On this point there seems to be a diversity of opinion, not 
only among book writers but practical cultivators. The 
very general opinion, and one that is most acted upon, is, 
that they should remain where they have been propagated 
until they are large enough to be worked ; a great many 
plans are therefore suggested for wintering seedlings, and 
especially the pear. The experience of the best culti- 



TKANSPLANTING STOCKS. 123 

vators every where is that seedling stocks especially, of 
all sorts, should be transplanted when one year old. It 
may be urged against this, that some seedlings are so 
small when one year old, as not to be worth transplanting; 
so feeble, that more care and culture would be required 
before they could be worked than they are worth. In re- 
ply, it can only be said that such feeble ^productions are 
only fit to be tlircrn^n cudoa/^ because the seeds must have 
been defective, or the soil and culture bad; and stocks 
raised from poor seeds, or stunted by bad soil and culture, 
will never make sound, healthy, vigorous, or long lived 
trees. 

When seedlings remain longer than one year in the seed 
bed, they grow up slender and weak ; one more vigorous 
than its neighbors will ruin all around it ; then the roots 
do not ramify, but continue to lengthen without forming 
laterals or fibres, and when removed and reduced to the 
necessary dimensions they receive a severe check ; but at 
one year the check is very light, they at once form lateral 
roots, and instead of being drawn up tall and slender, they 
become stout and well proportioned. The best pear grow- 
ers in Europe, and even in this country, would scarcely 
take as a gift two year seedling pears from the seed bed, 
unless in case of absolute necessity. 

The proper plan is to take up all seedling stochs^ and all 
layers^ suflficiently rooted to bear separation from the stool, 
and all cuttings that stand close, at one year old^^ and sort 
and arrange in separate classes, in this way : in one class 
put the strongest, those fit for immediate use, either to be 
grafted on the root, or budded the summer following ; in 
another class, put such as may require to stand one year 
in the nursery rows to be fit for working ; and in the third 
class, such as are too weak to be put in the nursery rows, 

* The sloe (Prunus spinosa) , or any such very slow growing thing 
excepted. 



124 THE NURSERY. 

but will require to be " bedded out," that is, set closely 
in beds by themselves, where they can remain for one or 
two years, until they are large and strong enough for root 
grafting, or for the nursery rows. Unless in the case of 
stocks scarce and difficult to procure, this third class had 
better be thrown away at once, as it will cost as much to 
nurse them as to raise fine stocks from the seed. 

2d. Time to take i/^.— There is but one proper time to 
take up all seedlings and rooted layers for stocks, and that 
is the fall, and this for several reasons. The first is, they 
are all liable to injury by the frosts of winter ; seedlings 
have no side roots to hold them in the ground, and layers 
are near the surface, so that the freezing and thawing 
draws them up ; the roots are thus exposed and seriously 
injured. The second is, they can be dressed during the 
winter in the cellar, and be ready for planting in spring. 
When taken up they can be laid closely in by the roots 
in the soil in a dry place, and covered over so as to 
exclude frost. When out-door work is over, they can be 
uncovered, taken into the cellar and dressed, and laid in 
again by the roots carefully in the same place, which 
should be protected from frost, of course, in the mean 
time. The third reason is, that when seedlings are taken 
up in the fall, the ground can be prepared for another 
crop ; and this is of considerable importance. In the 
case of layers, the stools or mother plants can be manured, 
dressed, and put in order for another season's growth ; 
and this, also, is important. Such are some of the advan- 
tages, or, in fact, the necessities of taking up stocks in the 
fall. 

3d. How to take %ip. — Seedlings are very easily taken 
up, without in the least mutilating the roots, in two 
w^ays. If one person do the work, he should begin at 
one end of the row, and with a common spade, or, which 
is better, one with three strong prongs, a foot long and 



TRANSrLAXTIXG STOCKS. 125 

an inch and a half wide ; dig nnder the plants without 
cutting the roots, and as fast as they are loosened below, 
pull them out, and in this way proceed. Another and 
quicker way is, for two men to loosen the plants, each on 
opposite sides of the row, inserting a forked S2:)ade as 
deep as the roots go, while another follows, and pulls out 
the plants. When the ground is quite soft, this way 
answers very well ; but if dry or hard, the first is better. 

Layers require more care and caution. A trench must 
be opened all around the layered branches deep enough 
to go quite below the roots, and in an oblique manner, so 
as to undermine them. Where the branches are pegged 
down, the pegs must be taken out, and the layer is then 
separated between the rooted part and the stool, and 
gently taken from the earth. Especial care must be taken 
not to split those that have been layered by incision ; 
their removal must be done slowly and cautiously. 

Mound Layers are easier separated ; the earth is simply 
removed from the base of the rooted branches, and they 
are then separated within an inch or so of the stem. 

Layered Branches or Cldnese Layers. — ^When the young 
rooted plants are produced from the eyes of a buried 
shoot or branch, the pegs are removed, the whole branch 
dug under, completely loosened and separated from the 
stool ; the young plants are then taken off one by one 
close to their base. 

4th. Pruning or Dressing Stocks. — ^The objects in view 
always in performing this operation are, to remove in- 
jured or broken roots, to reduce the tap root that it may 
produce laterals, to reduce the stems to a proper 23roj)or- 
tion with the roots, and put them in a condition that will 
ensure a vigorous growth. 

Seedlings taken from the seed bed, have always a long 
tap root, with few or no laterals ; and as trees with such 
roots are unfit for safe transplantation, it is necessary to 



126 



THE NUESEEY. 



take measures to change their character. We, therefore, 
remove the small tapering portion of tlie root, as at fie;;. 
84, A ; and this 
sj^reading roots 



ensures 
near the 



the production of lateral or 
sm-face of the ground. The 
pear roots espe- 
cially are inclined 
more to descend in 
a straight line than 
to spread ; and un- 
less they are well 
cut back when 
young, they are 
always difficult to 
trans j)lant safely 
afterwards. Eoots 
that descend like 
the prongs of a 
fork, are usually 
destitute of fibres ; 
wdiilst those that 
spread out hori- 
zontally, or near 
the surface, are 
well furnished with 
fibres, that not 
only make trees 
easily transplant- 
ed, but inclined to 
early fruitfulness. 
This operation on 
the roots, it is ob- 
vious, destroys the natural balance or proportion that ex- 
isted between them and the tops. Hence the necessity 
for shortening the stem in a corresponding manner. But 
even if the roots were not shortened, the stems should be, 




Fig 



one year's growth, as it 
The line at ^, shows the 
That at B, the shortening 



Fig. 84, a seedling stock 
comes from the seed hed. 
shortening of the tap mot. 
of the stem before replanting. Fig. 85, a quince cutting ; 
the cross lines on the stem and roots indicate the prun- 
ing before replanting. 



rKAXSPLANTING STOCKS. 127 

in order to obtain a vigorous growth. The very removal 
of the plant lessens the power of the roots to absorb and 
convey nntrinient ; and on this account, if no other, the 
stem should be reduced by way of regulating the supply 
and demand. We sometimes see young stocks planted 
out without any shortening of the stem ; and the result 
is, they scarcely make any growth the fii-st season — the 
roots are barely able to absorb enough to keep them alive. 
If one half the stem had been cut away, the remaining 
buds would have received such a supply of food as would 
have produced a vigorous growth. It is a pretty good 
rule, therefore, to reduce the stems of seedlings 07ie third 
to cyiie lialf^ as at B C^ iig. 84 ; but there are exceptions 
to this. For instance, a stock with a very large and 
strong root, and a short, stout, close-jointed stem, well 
matured and furnished with plump, prominent buds, 
requires very little, if any shortening of the stem ; and 
again, others are just the reverse, tall, slender, and 
feeble, having been suffocated in the seed bed. Such as 
these require to be shortened more than lialf^ perhaps 
two tliirds. 

Layers or Cidtings (fig. 85) are in a diiferent situation 
from seedlings, and require, therefore, diiferent treatment. 
They have no tap roots, but masses of fibres ; and these 
fibres, if they are preserved fresh and sound till rej)lanted, 
need no shortening ; but if destroyed by exposure, they 
should be cut ofi*, to make way for new ones. The short- 
ening of the stems depends entirely on the size and con- 
dition of the roots. If well rooted, and the roots be in 
good condition, they may be left a foot long ; if j^oorly 
rooted they should be cut back to six or eight inches. 
This applies equally to the layers of the qidnce^ jjaradise^ 
Doucain^ pluins^ etc. 

5th. Planting stocJcs in the nursery roics v^here they 
are to be hudded. — ^The first consideration w^hich this 



12S THE NUESEEY. 

operation suggests, is the condition of the soil. Under 
the head of soils, sufficient has been said respecting the 
modes of deepening^ drainiTig^ and enricliing ; and it is 
only necessary to say here, that where stocks are planted, 
the soil should be at once deej?^ dry^ and rich ; for no 
such thino; as sound vio-orous fruit trees can be raised on 
a poor, shallow, or wet soil. The various means of im- 
provement have been already pointed out and explained. 
It may, however, be well to remark that ground may be 
too rich^ and induce a rank, watery growth, that would 
either result in death at the final transplanting into the 
garden or orchard, or in a very feeble and sickly growth 
after it. We see frequent illustrations of this in the case 
of trees raised in old, w^om out nurseries, where rapid 
growth has been forced by powerfully-stimulating ma- 
nures. These rank, pithy, soft productions, are very 
attractive to the eye ; but they sufier so much by removal, 
no matter how well treated, that they seldom fail to dis- 
appoint the planter. This thing should, therefore, be 
guarded against. Manures used should be well decom- 
posed, and incorporated w^th the soil, if possible the 
autumn before planting. A tree is not like a cabbage or 
a lettuce. The tenderness and succulency of these con- 
stitute their great merit ; but the wood of a tree must be 
fii'm^ short-jointed^ and mature.^ and these requisites are 
always attained by a moderate and natural, not a forced 
growth. 

Planting each species in the soil best adapted to it. — 
Where there are diiferent characters of soils in a nursery, 
to be planted with a general assortment of stocks, it is im- 
portant to give to each that which is best adapted to its 
nature ; thus the pear, apple, and plum should have the 
richer, deeper, and more compact, or that with most clay. 
Tlie plum in particular succeeds well on a pretty stiff clay. 
The cherry and peach should have the lightest and warmest. 



TRAXSPLANTING STOCKS. 129 

Tlie quince^ the paradise^ and Dmtcain^ do not require 
such a deej) soil as the pear and the common apple seed- 
lings, because their roots are fibrous and always remain 
near the surface ; but it must not be infeiTed from this 
that a sliallmo soil suits these best. 

6th. When to Plant. — In parts of the country where 
the winter is long and severe, or w^here freezing and thaw- 
ing are frequent, fall planting cannot be successful, as the 
plants, having no hold of the ground, are drawn out and 
injured ; and besides, if the ground is somewhat clayey 
and tenacious, the heavy rains that occm' early in the 
spring wdll make it so compact that air will not penetrate 
it, and the young roots will form slowly and feebly. 
When neither of these difficulties is to be feared, fall 
j)lanting is decidedly preferable. Spring planting should 
be done at the earliest moment the condition of the ground 
will admit, which is, w^hen dry enough to crumble into 
fine particles when turned over with the spade. 

Yth. Distance to Plant. — We are all in the habit of plant- 
ing quite too closely in the nursery ; the consequence is that 
the trees are not well proportioned. As a general thing, 
the standards are in many cases as large six feet from 
the ground as at the collar, weak and top heavy, so that 
sticks have to be used to support them, even when four 
years old. Kot long ago I observed in a nursery which 
has the reputation of being one of the best managed in 
this comitry, whole squares, some thousands of four year 
old apple trees, of all kinds, tied up to sticks ; they were 
not able to support their own weight. One reason, and the 
principal one, was, they were planted too close^ the other 
will be spoken of presently. Pyramidal trees are out of 
the question where such close j)lanting is practised, the 
growth is always forced to the top. l^ature gives us 
numerous and striking illustrations of the effect of close 
planting. We see in a natural group or thicket trees 
6* 



130 THE NUESEEY. 

running up forty or fifty feet of an equal diameter, and 
without a brancli ; and if one sucli tree were left exposed, 
by the removal of those around it, the first high wind 
would blow it down. On the outskirts of this group or 
thicket, or perhaps completely isolated, in the centre of a 
field, we see another tree of the same species, branched 
almost from the ground, and with a diameter at the base 
twice as great as at half its height, and taj)ering upward 
with beautiful regularity, and capable of resisting a hur- 
ricane. To raise stout, well-proportioned trees, we must 
give them plenty of room, that they may have the advan- 
tage of air all around^ and not only at the top. 

There is scarcely a nursery to be found in which 
the trees are not grown too close — three or four on the 
space that one should occupy. There is to be sure great 
economy in close planting, for five hundred trees can be 
grown on the space that one should occupy, and with 
nearly as little labor; but it would really be better for 
people to pay twice or three times as much for their trees 
if grown so far apart that the air and light would have 
free access to them in all parts, and give them stout, well- 
proportioned forms. A reform in this respect is much 
needed, but it cannot be expected until j^urchasers become 
discriminating and intelligent on the subject. 

The distance at which stocks should be planted in the 
nursery rows is governed entirely by circumstances. If 
it be intended to use a cultivator between the rows, they 
should not be less than three and a half feet aj^art. If 
spade and hoe culture be intended, two and a half to 
three feet will be sufficient. Where the trees are to be 
removed at the age of one year, one foot apart in the rows 
is sufficient ; but if they are to remain until two, three or 
four years they should be eighteen inches to two feet. If 
removed at two years, eighteen inches is enough ; but 
where standards remain three or four years, until they 



TRANSPLANTING STOCKS. 131 

have heads formed, and pyramids remain nntil they have 
formed two or three tiers of lateral branches, two feet or 
two and a half is little enough. Indeed, wdien pyramids 
remain for three years, there should be a clear space 
three feet on all sides. 

Dwarf standards require less space than full stand- 
ards, and dwarf bushes still less. The stocks intended for 
these difterent classes of trees should be planted sepa- 
rately. In sorting the stocks at the time of dressing, the 
largest should be used for full standards and the smaller 
for low or dwarf standards. 

8. Mode of Planting. — The square or plot of ground 
for each class of stocks being ready, a line is stretched 
along one side and a trench opened with the SjDade, deep 
and wide enough to hold the roots ; the plant is then held 
against the side of the trench next the line, by one man, 
whilst the earth is filled in by another ; when about half 
the earth is in, it is trodden down pretty firmly by the 
foot, and the remainder filled in. As buds are usually 
inserted on the north side of the stocks they should incline 
slightly to the south. Good pulverized snrface soil slionld 
always be put upon the roots, to induce the immediate for- 
mation of young fibres. During the planting, the roots 
must be carefully guarded from exj^osure. A few only 
should be taken out of the ground at a time. 
When there are but few^ fibrous roots, puddling 
in thin mud is useful, otherwise not. 

Planting Root Grafts. — The quickest mode 
of planting small root grafts is to stretch a line 
along the ground to be planted, and with a 
dibble make the holes and press the earth 
in around the plants. This dibble should ^^^ ^g 
be twelve to eighteen inches long, about FormcfDih- 
two inches in diameter, pointed and shod ^^^ "'^'^ '" 

' ^ planting root 

with iron — fig. 86 represents one made of grafts. 




132 THE NUKSEKY. 

the handle of a spade. One person will plant as many 
in this way as four conld by opening trenches with 
spades. But where the plants are dibbled in, the ground 
must be in the best condition, perfectly dry and finely 
pulverized. 

Treatment of Stocks ciftei^ Planting. — The principal 
care which stocks require between the time they are 
planted and the time they are budded, is to keep the 
ground about them clean of weeds, and in a friable, 
porous condition on the surface by frequent stirring. The 
success of budding depends in a great measure on the 
condition of the stocks. They must he in a thrifty, grow- 
ing state, and this can only be obtained with good treat- 
ment. Having now considered, in as much detail as 
seems necessary, the propagation and transj^lanting of 
stocJcs into the nursery rows, we proceed with 

Section 4. — The Budding, Grafting, and Management of 
Trees in the Nursery. 

The simplest and clearest method of treating this part 
of the subject seems to be, that of considering separately 
each year's operations in succession. 

The First Year. — Strong yearling seedlings of the 
apple^pear^ cherry.^ and plum.^ say one fourth of an inch and 
upwards in diameter, and well rooted layers of the quince^ 
paradise^ and Doucain.^ of the same size, planted in the 
sjjring in a good soil, and kept under good clean culture 
will, as a general thing, be in a fit state for budding in 
July, August, or September following. The budding may 
therefore be considered as the first season's work. The 
details of this operation may be divided for consideration, 
as follows : 

1. Time for Budding. — 2. Preparation of the Stocks, 



BUDDING, GRAFTING, ETC. 133 

— 3. Prepainng the Buds. — i. Insertion of the Buds. — 5. 
Untying. 

1st. The time for budding each species or class of fruits 
depends upon its habits of growth. Such as cease to 
grow early in the season, must be budded early, because 
it can only be done while the stocks are in a free, growing 
state, full of sap. Such as grow until late in the autumn, 
must be budded late, otherwise the new layers of wood 
formed after the insertion of the bud, would grow over 
and destro}^ it, or the bud would be forced into a prema- 
ture grow^th towards autumn, which in fruit trees should 
always be avoided. The common sorts of plum terminate 
their growth early in the season, and are therefore budded 
early, whether with plums, peaches, or apricots, at Ro- 
chester usually about the last of July, or beginning of 
August. The native or Canada plum, and the elierry or 
7nyrohalan^ grow freely till late in the fall, and may be 
budded in the latter end of August, or beginning of Sep- 
tember. Pears on pear stocks are usually budded here in 
July, in anticipation of the leaf blight which stops their 
growth when it attacks them. Where no such thing as 
this is apprehended, they should not be budded before the 
middle of August, as the buds are not generally mature 
till that time. Apples on free stocks, and on the paradise 
and Doucain, may be budded as soon as the buds are ma- 
ture, which is usually, here, about the first to the middle 
of August. Cherries on free 'tnazzard stocks — as soon as 
buds are ripe here, about the first of August. Pears on 
quince^ and clierries on maJialeh., not before the first of 
September, and from that to the middle of the month, 
as the quince and mahaleb grow late, and especially the 
latter. Peach stocks should always be budded the same 
season the seeds are planted, and, as they grow rapidly 
until very late, are not usually budded till about the mid- 
dle of September, The biidding period varies in different 



134 THE NUESEKY. 

seasons. In a dry, warm season, the yonng wood matures 
earlier, and stocks cease to grow sooner, and are, there- 
fore, budded earlier than in a cool, moist season, that pro- 
longs the growth of the stocks, and retards the maturity 
of the buds. Stocks growing feebly require to be budded 
earlier than those growing freely. It is necessary to keep 
an eye to all these points. 

The destruction of insects must be promptly attended 
to. An army of slugs may devour the foliage of the pear 
and cherry, and even the plum, in a day or two, and pre- 
vent their being worked that season. The aj^Ms^ too, fre- 
quently appears in such multitudes as to check the growth. 
Dry lime or ashes thrown on the slugs will kill them, and 
strong soap suds, or tobacco water, so strong as to assume 
the color of strong beer, will kill the aphis. 

2d. Preparation of the Stocks. — This consists in remov- 
ing such lateral shoots from the stock as may be likely to 
obstruct the insertion of the bud. Our practice is to do 
this at the moment of budding, one person doing the 
work in advance of the budders. If done a few days pre- 
vious, and several shoots are removed, it checks the 
growth of the stocks, and they do not work so well. It 
might answer very well to do it two or three weeks pre- 
vious, so that they might recover from the check before 
being budded. 

3d. Insertion of the Bud. — Having treated so fully of 
the manner of preparing and inserting the buds in the 
article on budding, nothing farther need be said on these 
points here. 

In free stocks the bud should be inserted within three 
or four inches of the ground. 

In some parts of the west, "Wisconsin, Illinois, and some 
other places, certain rapid, late-growing, and rather tender 
varieties are liable to be winter-killed if budded close to 
the ground, probably by the sudden thawing of that part 



BUDDIKG, GEAFTING, ETC. 135 

caused by tlie refraction of heat from the ground. In view 
of such a difficulty, it may be well enough to bud high up, 
but, as a general thing, low budding makes the best trees. 
All dwarf stocks should be budded as close to the surface 
of the ground as it is possible, and even some of the earth 
may be removed and put back when the budding is done. 
The necessity for this lies in the fact that all dwarf stocks 
should be wholly below the ground when finally planted 
out in the garden or orchard. 

4th. Untying the Buds. — In ten days or a fortnight 
after the buds are inserted, they' should be examined, and 
such as have failed may be budded again if the stocks 
continue to grow. In some cases it may be necessary, and 
particularly with cherries, to loosen the buds and tie them 
over again, as rapid growth will cause the string to cut 
the bark before the bud has completely united, or is fit to 
be untied. This seldom occurs, however ; as a general 
thing, the strings may be removed in three weeks to a 
month after the budding ; and they should never be left 
on over the wintei', as moisture lodges around them to the 
detriment of the bud. As soon as the budding is done, 
the ground should be worked over with the cultivator or 
forked spade. The first season's management of stocks too 
small for budding consists simply in keeping the soil clean 
and mellow, and in guarding against the attacks of 
insects. 

The treatment of root grafts the first season consists in 
cleaning and loosening the ground, the removal of suckers 
from the roots as fast as they appear, and pinching early 
any strong side shoots likely to weaken the leader. 

Second Year. — Where the buds failed the previous sea- 
son, the stocks should now be whip-grafted near the sur- 
face of the ground. They will be little behind the buds, 
and will make nearly as good trees, if neatly done. Plums 
and cherries must be done before, or as soon as the buds 



136 



THE NUESEET. 



begin to swell (say in March here); ]3ears and apples 
may be done later. The second sized stocks^ planted last 
season^ and intended to be budded this, should, if in a 
feebly growing or stunted condition, be cut back to within 
two or three inches of the surface of the ground. This 
will give the roots new vigor, and thrifty shoots will be 
made by budding time that will work more easily and 
successfully than the old stock. In a month or so after 
being cut down, all the shoots but the strongest one should 
be removed. The stocks hudded last season are headed 
down to within three or four inches of the bud, just as the 
leaves are beginning to appear, and all buds starting into 
growth on the stock, either below or above them, rubbed 
off. 

Treatment of tlie growing hud consists in keeping all 
^ shoots that appear on the stock rubbed off. 

If side shoots appear early, and are likely 
to contract the growth of the leader, they 
should be pinched off. Any that assume a 
reclining or crooked habit should be tied up 
to the stock, or to a support, w^hich may be 
a wooden pole four feet long, sunk a foot in 
the ground at the root of the stock ; both 
the stock and growing shoot should be fast- 
ened to it (fig. 87), but not so close as to 
impede the growth. This is only necessary 
w^ith certain weak, irregular growing sorts. 
In August the portion of the stock left 
Fig- 87. above the bud at the heading down in the 

tre't in^iTfir^'st'^st^ spriug should be removed with a sloping 
son-s growth, sup- cut, close and smooth, as at A (fig. 87), at the 
TiiTiine^a^t X in- highcst poiut of uuiou bctwecn the bud and 
dicates the cutting gtock. The ucw laycrs of wood made after 
Xsl to the^buY^ this time covers the wound before growth 
ceases in the fall. Side shoots, when they appear, must 




BUDDING, GRAFTING, ETC. 137 

be checked, if too vigorous, by pinching off their ends, 
but not entirely removed, as thev assist in giving size and 
strength to the lower part of the body of the young tree. 
The peach almost invariably produces numerous side 
branches the first season, and it is a very common but very 
erroneous practice to prune these all oif in mid-summer. 
The proper course is to maintain an uniform vigor amongst 
them by pinching, and to prevent any from encroaching on 
the leading shoot ; in this way we get stout, well-propor- 
tioned trees. This brings us to the end of the second year, 
and gives us young trees of one year's growth. Peach 
trees should always be planted out at this age, and all trees 
intended for training in j)articular forms ; but as this part 
of the subject will be considered under the head of " Selec- 
tions of Trees^^ we will proceed to the course of manage- 
ment for the 

Third Year. — ^We commence this year with trees of 
one year's growth ; and the first point is to determine what 
form is to be given them, whether tall or dwarf stand- 
ards.^ pyramids^ hushes^ or espaliers. Having settled these 
matters, we have but to follow up the proper course to 
accomplish the desired ends. It may be well to take each 
of these forms in succession, and point out the necessary 
management under various circumstances. 

1st. Standards. — Until very lately, trees of all sorts, 
and for every situation, were grown as tall standards, with 
naked trunks six and even eiglit feet high. Indeed, it 
appeared as though an impression existed amongst peoj)le 
that a tree was not in reality a tree, nor worthy of a place 
on their gromids, if it had not this particular form. Lat- 
terly, however, since fruit tree culture has become more 
practised, and somewhat better understood, this impres- 
sion has been gradually losing ground, and in all parts 
of the country low trees are finding advocates. 

Experience is beginning to teach people that whilst tall 



138 THE NURSERY. 

standards in an orchard possess the single advantage of 
admitting the operations of the plough nnder the branches, 
lovv' standards are mncli more secnre against the nnmerons 
fatal diseases that attack the trunks — are much more 
accessible for the performance of all the necessary details 
of management, and for the ffatherino- of the fruit. 

These are all very important advantages certainly ; but 
the most important one is the safety of the tree against 
diseases of the trunk. In all parts of this country, we 
have a powerful sun in summer, and in winter and spring 
sudden and violent changes from one extreme to another; 
and experience has shown, that the trunk and large 
branches, being fully exposed to all external influences, 
are generally the parts first attacked wdth disease. Cul- 
tivators are, of course, at liberty to choose for themselves ; 
but, except to meet the w^ants of some particular circum- 
stances, no standard tree should have a branchless stem 
above five feet in height : four is preferable for all, ex- 
cept orchards of common apples for cider or stock. Trees 
with heads only four feet from the ground, are always easy 
of access, and the natural spread of the branches aflbrds 
a great protection to the tiamk at all seasons. E^ursery- 
men should by all means encourage by precept and ex- 
ample the cultivation of low-headed trees. 

Starting with the yearling trees for standards, we 
examine the habit of the variety, whether stout or slen- 
der, whether branched, as many varieties are the first 
season, or without branches. Before proceeding to the 
operation of cutting down to increase the size of the 
trmik, the reader is referred to the principles and prac- 
tices of pruning in the first part of the work. IS'o ^r\^\\~ 
ing should be attempted for the attainment of any special 
purpose without having first carefully studied these. 

If slender and without side branches, as in fig. 88, 
they should be cut back twelve to twenty inches, as at A. 



BUDDING, GEAFTIKG, ETC. 



189 



Tins removes the buds that would push first, and retains 
the sap in the lower parts, which 
will give a stout body. The taller 
and more slender the tree, and 
the smaller the buds, the farther 
it becomes necessary to cut back. 
In fact, some very feeble growing 
sorts must be cut back till within 
a foot or less of the base. Dur- 
ing the summer, trees cut back in 
this way may produce lateral 
shoots on the greater ^^art of their 
length. These must not be pruned 
off, but kept in an uniform size 
and vigor, by pinching any that 
threaten to exceed their proper 
bounds. The shoots immediately 
below the leader, must be watch- 
ed, as they are always inclined to 

Fig. 88. Fig. 89. pusll tOO StrOUgly. 

i^^. 88, a yearling tree; from the ^ ^rCC thuS CUt back, aud the 
Dud yl. indicates the cutting brtck to 

make a stout stem for a standard. B sidc brauches rCgulatcd by piucll- 
and C. tl.e cutting back for pyra- • ^^^.^. -^ thc Ml, haVC a StOUt 

mids or low standards. D. the cut- o" ' ' 

ting back for dwarfs or esiiaiiers. body, and prcscut the appcarancG 

F/... 89. a young tree once cut back ^ n gg -y^^ ^j VearliugS 

to form trunk for a standard. & ^ o 

are short and stout, and are fur- 
nished with a few lateral shoots, cutting back may be 
unnecessary. The largest of the side shoots may be 
pruned off wholly, and the small ones left to retain the 
tap in the lower part of the stem, at least till midsummer, 
when new ones will have been produced. There are cer- 
tain stout-growing, branching varieties of all the fruits 
that require no shortening and very little pruning of any 
kind, to form stout trunks, and especially when not 
planted too close. 




140 THE NURSERY. 

Dwarf Standards, — The management of yearly buds 
to produce these, is similar to that described for standards, 
varying it always to suit the particular habit of the spe- 
cies or variety ; tall slender growing sorts require cutting 
back, and the suppression of branches at the top; but 
many varieties of cherries and plums, some very stout 
growing pears and apples, and all ajmcots and j^eaches, 
may commence the formation of heads this season. The 
stem is cut at the point desired, two to three feet from the 
ground, to form the head on, and three or four of the 
stoutest shoots, growing in opposite directions, are pre- 
served, whilst all others close to them are pinched off, 
when two or three inches long ; side branches are allowed 
to remain that season on the stem to strengthen it, but 
they are kept short and regular by pinching. In the fall 
these trees will be fit for the final planting out, whilst 
those of weaker habit will require another season, if they 
be wanted with heads. 

Pyramids. — Yearling trees intended for pyramids are 
cut back so far as to ensure the production of vigorous 
side branches within six or eight inches of the stock. The 
habits of growth of the species and variety must be care- 
fully taken into account. Some are disposed, from the 
beginning, to form lateral branches, and others require 
vigorous measures to force them to do so. As examj^les, 
the Bloodgood pear is very much inclined to branch the 
first year, whilst the Louise Bonne de Jersey and Duchess 
d'Angouleme seldom do so, unless ni some way the growing 
point be checked. So it is in chei ries ; most of the Dukes 
and Morellos are inclined to produce laterals the first 
season, but the free growing sorts. Hearts and Bigarreaus^ 
rarely do so, unless the point is checked early in the sea- 
son. So it is in all the fruits, and therefore no general 
rule can be given, but the appearance of the tree indicates 
the treatment required. Where we see side branches 



BUDDING, GKAFTLNG, ETC. lil 

naturally produced the first season, we at once conclude 
that the buds are well disposed to break, and the cutting 
back may be comparatively light. Where no side 
branches are produced, we must be governed by the 
appearance of the buds on the lower part of the tree, 
where it is desired to produce the lower branches ; if they 
be small and flat, it will take close cutting to arouse them, 
but if plump and prominent, less vigorous measures will 
be necessary. In the case of short, stout, and branched 
yearlings, a few of the best placed, lowest, and strongest 
branches are reserved, whilst the others are entirely re- 
moved. We then shorten the reserved branches accord- 
ing to their position, leaving the lowest the longest. The 
leading shoot is shortened, so that all the buds left will be 
sure to push and form shoots. When these have attained 
the length of two or three inches, the strongest and best 
placed are selected for permanent branches, and the others 
are pinched off. 

Yearlings that have no side branches, figure 88, we 
generally cut back one half as to B^ and in many cases 
two thirds to C\ in order to obtain strong branches near 
the grourid. Every bud below the one we cut to, should 
push, and when shoots of two inches or so are made, we 
select two, three, or such number as may be wanted, of 
the strongest and best situated to be reserved, and pinch 
the others. It very generally happens that two or three 
buds next below the one we cut to, push with such vigor 
as to injure both the leading shoot above and the side 
shoots below them. They must be watched and pinched 
as soon as this disposition becomes obvious. Yearling 
trees managed in this way will present in the fall the 
appearance of fig. 90. 

Purchasers are very apt to favor tall trees, even at the 
expense of their forms ; and nurserymen, even those who 
know better, with a view to suiting the tastes of their cus- 



14:2 



THE NUESEEY, 



tomers, rarely cut their trees back sufficiently to make 
pyramids. The first branches are seldom less than two 
feet from the ground, and it is quite dif- 
ficult to make nice pyramids of such 
trees afterwards ; at all events, it incurs 
a great loss of time, for the w^hole of 
the branches and half of the stem must 
be cut away to produce the required 
form. 

Dwarf Bushes. — The aj^ple on para- 
dise is generally grown in this form, 
with six to twelve inches of a stem and 
spreading heads. The Morello cherry 
and the cherry and Mirabelle plums, 
and many kinds of pears, may be 
growm as dwarf bushes, if desirable. 
The stocks must all be of a dw^arf cha- 
racter. Plants from which the strongest 
have been selected for dwarf standards 
and ]3yramids, will make very good 
bushes. The branches being so near 
the root renders a less amount of vigor 
necessary. Yery strong yearling plants 
may be allowed to form heads the 
second year, but such as are "Dery slender w^ill require cut- 
ting back and another season's grow^th, before the head is 
allow^ed to form ; and they will require a similar course of 
treatment, as has been recommended for standards, and 
dwarf standards. Ko matter what the character of the 
tree is, a stout stem is necessary, and although the mea- 
sures taken to obtain this seem to require in some cases a 
loss of time, still there is a gain in the end ; for trees 
allowed to form heads before the stems are amply suffi- 
cient to support them, require a great deal of extra care 
after planting, out, and a course of shortening back, that 




Fig. 90. 
Pig. 90, a two year old 
tree cut back once, and 
inten.led for a pyramid. 
The cross lines inJicate 
the second cutting back. 



BUDDING, GKAFTING, ETC. 143 

olisots the temporary advantage of forming the head a year 
sooner. This hokls good in all cases. The mode of form- 
ing the heads of dwarf bushes is similar to that described 
for standards. 

Espalier Trees. — ^These have a few advantages peculiar 
to themselves, which will be explained under the head of 
" the selection of trees for the garden." 

To form espaliers, yearling trees are usually chosen, 
planted in the place where they are to remain and cut 
back to within four or five buds of the stocks, as at 2>, 
fig. 88 ; these buds break and produce shoots from which 
the strongest are chosen to form the arms, and the others 
are rubbed off. 

The peach grows so vigorously that, if the growing 
bud be checked when a foot high, it will produce side 
shoots, from which two may be selected from the main 
branches of the espalier, and thus a year will be saved. 
Another w^ay is to insert two buds, one on each side of 
the stock. Yery nice espalier trees may be grown in 
the form of a pyramid with a main stem and lateral 
branches, the lowest being the longest. Trees for this 
form require the same management as pyramids, except 
that the branches should be placed opposite on tir)0 sides. 
This brings us to the end of the third year, and the trees 
are now two years old from the bud. At this age w^e 
take it for granted that all trees on dwarf stocks iox p)yra- 
mids^ dwarfs^ and espaliers^ and all standards even, of 
the peach, apricot, and nectarine, and in most cases the 
cherry and plum, w^ill be finally planted out. Standard 
]3ears and apples are almost the only trees that require to 
be left longer in the nursery, and their management 
during the third and fourth years of their growth, if 
allowed to remain so long, will be similar to that de- 
scribed for the second. In the spring, February or 
March, the leading shoot is cut back in order to increase 



144 THE NTJESERY. 

the stoutness of the stem as it advances in height; and 
during the summer, the side shoots are kept of uniform 
length and vigor by pinching. The lower side branches 
are removed gradually every season as the tree becomes 
strong enough to dispense with them. As it has been be- 
fore remarked, the cutting back depends always on the 
natural character of the subject — stout, short-jointed, mod- 
erate growing sorts, that naturally increase in height and 
diameter of stem in proper proportions, will require no 
cutting back. Yery few, however, have this habit. In 
nearly all cases more or less shortening in, every spring, 
is necessary until the stem has arrived at the requisite 
height, and is well proportioned, decreasing gradually in 
diameter from the base to the toj). 

The Treatment of the Soil. — During the whole period 
the trees remain in the nursery, the ground about them 
must be kept clean and finely pulverized on the surface 
by repeated and continual stirring. Every spring, as soon 
as the heavy rains are over, and the ground settled and 
dry, the space between the rows should be ploughed, if 
they are far enough apart to admit of it. A small one- 
hoi*se plough, such as is used for ploughing cornfields (see 
implements), is suitable, but it should not be allowed to go 
nearer the tree than six inches, nor so deejj as to come in 
contact with the roots. After ploughing, the cultivator 
may be run through once each way between the rows, 
every week or two, and this will leave very little hoeing to 
be done. If the rows are so close as not to admit the 
plough and cultivator, the forked spade must be used in 
the spring to give the ground a thorough stirring, and the 
hoe afterwards. If the ground be naturally adhesive, a 
second or even a third ploughing or spading may be 
necessary in the course of the summer ; for it must at all 
times be kept in a loose, porous condition, or the roots will 
be deprived of the benefits of the air and moisture. Stir- 



THE GKAPE VINE. 145 

ring the ground so often tliat weeds barely make their 
apjoearance, is not only the best, but most economical cul- 
ture. 

It need scarcely be added that in using the plough 
or cultivator among trees, a very short whitHetree should 
be used, the horse should be gentle and steady, and the 
ploughman both careful and skilful ; and laborers who 
use the spade or hoe, should be duly cautioned against 
cutting or bruising the trees with their implements. 

Section 5. — Propagation and ISTursery Culture of 
Several Fruit Trees and Shrubs not usually 
Grafted or Budded. 

1st. The Grape Vine. — Thi^ is one of the easiest sub- 
jects to propagate among all our fruit trees. 

In all stages of its growth it should have a dri/ and 
rich soil^ dryness first and most of all. The surest 
method of propagation for unpractised hands, is layering. 
A branch or shoot of the current season's growth, laid 
down in June, in the manner described in the first part 
of this book (figs. 61 and 62), will be well enough rooted 
to bear transplanting in the fall or spring following. The 
reader is referred to the instructions on layering. 

The next mode is by long cuttings. At the winter 
pruning, the strongest, roundest, and firmest shoots of the 
previous season's growth are selected, and cut into pieces 
twelve to eighteen inches long, with two or three eyes, as 
in fig. 60. They are cut close to an eye at the lower end, 
or a piece of the old wood may be attached, like fig. 68^ 
These cuttings are buried in dry, sandy earth, till the 
ground is fit to receive them in the spring. 

In planting, the whole cutting is buried but one eye, 
and some cover that even as much as an inch deep. The 
long cutting must be laid in the trench obliquely, as in 



14:6 THE NUESERY. 

fig. 60, SO that the lower part will not be out of reach of 
air and heat, w^ithont which new roots will not be formed. 

During the summer, the earth must be kept clean and 
friable around them ; and, in dry seasons, a thick mulch- 
ing will be very beneficial in j)reserving a uniformity of 
heat and moisture. In the fall, the plants w^ill be fit for 
final transplanting ; but if they remain another season, 
they should be pruned back in winter to two or three 
buds at the base, and during the following summer only 
one or two shoots be allowed to grow, all others being 
rubbed off early. 

Layers, when taken from the mother plant, and set in 
nursery rows, should be cut back in the same manner, in 
order to obtain one or two vigorous shoots when the 
plant is to be finally set oul?. 

SJiort Cuttings. — ^These consist of only one eye, from 
the stoutest and firmest shoots of the previous year's 
wood (fig. 59), with not more than an inch of wood on 
each side of it. These cuttings, however, seldom succeed 
so well in the open ground as others. They require a 
little artificial bottom heat. 

The simplest way to treat them is to make a sort of 
hotbed, with two to three feet of half-decayed stable 
manure, well mixed, and six or eight inches of light 
sandy soil. The cuttings are planted in this a quarter to 
half an inch deep, and covered with a glazed sash. If 
carefully and regularly watered, and well ventilated, they 
will make fine plants by the autumn. A better way than 
this is, especially in propagating the foreign varieties, to 
put them into pots, and put the 23ots in the hotbed. 

A single cutting may be put into a small three inch 
pot, covered a fourth of an inch deep ; or several cuttings 
may be inserted in a larger pot. In this case they should 
be placed around the sides. When they have made a 
growth of about six inches, they may be shifted into 



THE CUKEAKT. 147 

larger pots, with good, rich compost. In one season they 
will make good, strong plants. Plenty of air should 
always be given them, as soon as they are rooted, to 
prevent their being drawn tip into weak, watery shoots. 
When the native hardy sorts are raised from eyes in the 
hotbed as described, the yearling plants should be pruned 
to a couple of eyes, and transplanted into nursery rows, 
where one season's growth will fit them for final setting. 

Single eyes^ in all cases, make the best plants. 

2d. The Currant. — Every one knows how to pro^Dagate? 
this. A yearling shoot, six inches to a foot long, taken 
ofiT close to the old wood, and planted half or two thirds 
its length in the ground, in the spring, will make a 
strong, well-rooted plant in the autumn. To prevent 
shoots from springing up below the surface of the ground, 
the eyes on that part are cut out, or they may be left the 
first season, and cut out w^hen the plants are rooted. 

The buds aid in the formation of roots. "When a 
variety is rare and scarce, the young shoots may all be 
layered in July, and they will make well-rooted plants in 
the fall. 

3d. Gooselerries are propagated in the same way, and 
with almost equal facility, as currants, though, as a gene- 
ral thing, they do not grow with such rapidity. Layers 
are the surest, but they require to be one year in the 
nursery rows after being separated from the mother plant 
to make them strong enough for the final planting. An 
inch or two of swamp moss laid over the surface of the 
ground in which layers are made, assists in retaining the 
moisture. This is applicable to all kinds of layers. 

4th. Straioberries are propagated by the runners, which 
spread on the sm*face of the ground in all directions from 
the plant as soon as it begins to grow in the spring. 
Where a variety is scarce, and it is desirable to multiply 
it carefully, these runners should be sunk slightly in th^j 



lt!:S THE NUKSEEY. 

ground, and j^egged down with small hooked sticks, as 
they will root and form plants fit for removal much 
quicker than if left to root in their own way. With 
good management, a single plant may produce twenty- 
five to fifty, and even one hundred in one season. Plants 
to be propagated from, should have abundance of space, 
and a deep, rich soil. An application of liquid manure 
will stimulate their vigor, and increase the number and 
strength of the runners. 

5th. Raspherries are propagated from suckers, or shoots 
produced from the collar, or spreading roots of the plant. 
They are renewed every season. The canes bearing but 
once, they may be propagated by layering the young 
canes in midsummer, and by cuttings of the roots. The 
latter mode is advantageously aj)plied in the case of new 
or rare sorts. 

6th. Bcrherries are propagated by seeds, suckers, and 
layers, in the simplest manner. Rare sorts are also grafted 
successfully on the common ones early in the spring, in 
the cleft mode. 

Yth. Miilherries. — ^The large black mulberry is the only 
one worthy of culture for the fruit. It is easily propa- 
gated both by cuttings and layers. The latter mode is 
the surest. 

8th. Chestnuts. — The common American chestnut may 
be proj^agated from seeds either planted in the fall or 
kept in sand all winter, and planted early in the sj)ring. 
In one season they are fit to transplant into nursery rows, 
and in two years more at most may be finally planted 
out. 

The Spanish chestnut is propagated either from seeds 
or by grafting on the common chestnut. Its fruit is three 
times as large as the common. 

9th. Filberts are propagated either from suckers or by 
grafting. If seedlings are used for stocks, the grafted 



LABELS FOR NUESERY TREES. 149 

plants are the best, as they are not only more prolific, but 
they do not throw np suckers. They may be grown 
either as low standards, with stems three feet high, or as 
pyramids or dwarf bushes. 

10th. Walnuts are propagated from seeds or by graft- 
ing, in the same way as filberts. There is a dwarf pro- 
lijie variety, that bears quite young, and makes handsome 
pyramidal garden trees. 

Section H. — Labels for IN^uesery Trees. 

It is highly important that a correct system for preserv 
ing the names of varieties be adopted. Our practice is, to 
make labels of cedar, eighteen inches long, three inches 
wide, and about an inch thick. These are pointed on one 
end, to be sunk in the ground eight or ten inches, 
and the face is painted white. When a variety 
is to be budded or grafted, the name, or a number 
inferring to a regular record is written on it, 
and it is put in the ground in front of the first tree 
of the variety. Besides this, we invariably record 
in the nm*sery book each row, with the kind or 
kinds worked on it, in the order they stand in 
the square. In case of the accidental loss of the 
labels, the record preserves the names. Figure 
91 represents this kind of label, and though there 
are many others in use, we believe this is one of 
the simplest and best. 

At the time of budding or grafting, we usually 

write the name on with pencil, and after the 

Fig. 91, la- square has been all worked, the numbers are 



bel for nur- 



made with a brush and black paint. 

sery rows. J- 



150 THE NUESEEY. 



Section 7. — Taking up Teees eeom the Nueseey. 

This is an oj^eration that should be well iinderstoocl, 
and performed with the greatest care. The importance of 
the fibrous roots has been already explained. It has been 
shown that they are the principal absorbing parts of the 
roots, and when they are destroyed the tree receives a 
great shock, from which it requires good treatment and a 
long time to recover. There is a great difference in the 
character of roots, some penetrating the ground to a great 
depth, and requiring much labor in the removal, others 
quite fibrous near the surface, and consequently very 
easily taken up. This difference is not owing alone to 
the difference in the species, but to whether the subjects 
have or have not been frequently transplanted. The way 
to take up a tree properly, is to dig a trench on each side 
at the extremities of the lateral or spreading roots, taking 
care that the edge, and not the face of the spade, be kept 
next the tree, so that the roots will not be cut oft'. "When 
this trench is so deep as to be below all the lateral roots, 
a slight pull, and a pry on each side with the spade, will 
generally bring out the trees. If there be strong tap 
roots, running down to a great depth, they may be cut 
with a stroke of the spade. Laborers who have not been 
accustomed to the work, invariably perform it badly, and 
it is difficult to get it properly done even by experienced 
hands. It is a work requiring care and leisure, though it 
is usually performed slovenly and in great haste. 

LdbelUng. — When a tree, or a number of trees, of any 
variety are taken up, a label, with the name written on it, 
should at once be attached. The kind of label used in 
the nurseries here, is a piece of pine about three and a half 
inches long, three fourths of an inch wide, and one eighth 



TAKING UP TREES FROM THE NURSERY. 



151 




of an inch thick. A neck is made on one end by cutting 

into each edge about an eighth of an inch ; a piece of 'No. 

32 copper wire, about seven or eight inches long, is then 

fastened in the middle, on the neck of 

the label, with two or three twists. 

The two ends of the wire are then 

placed around the stem, or a branch of 

the tree, and are fastened with a twist or 

two. This kind of wire and label we 

find by experience to be not only safe, 

but more expeditiously attached than 

any other. If a little paint is rubbed on 

just before being used, the writing will FrG.92. 

be more legible and permanent, but it wire labei for trees. 

should be so light as to be barely perceptible, else it will 

clog the pencil. These labels are made very quickly, as 

follows: take a common inch board planed, cut into 

pieces the length of the label, make a groove with a knife 

or saw along both sides, at one end for the neck, and then 

set the piece on its end, and split off the labels with a 

knife ; this can be done nearly as fast as one person can 

pick them up. The wire costs three shillings per pound, 

and is cut into lengths with a pair of common shears. 

Packing. — Persons who are ignorant of the structure 
of trees, never appreciate the importance of packing ; and 
that is the reason why so many trees are every year 
destroyed by exposure. It is not uncommon, in this part 
of the country, to see apple trees loaded on hayi-acks, 
like so much brush, without a particle of covering on any 
part of them, to travel a journey of three or four weeks 
in this condition. Of course it is utterly impossible that 
such trees can live or thrive ; and yet the persons who 
thus conduct their nursery operations, are doing the most 
profitable business. Such practices are not only dishonest. 



152 THE NUESEEY. 

but tiglilj injurious and disreputable to the trade ; and 
it is by no means fair to class sucli people amongst re- 
spectable and honorable nurserymen. 

Purchasers are often at fault in this matter. Nm'sery- 
men have to buy and pay for the material used in pack- 
ing. Mats cost one to two shillings apiece ; straw, three 
cents per small bundle ; yam, one to two shillings per 
pound ; moss, three to four dollars per load, in many 
cases ; and besides, the labor of packing, when well done^ 
is very great. It is, therefore, not unreasonable that a 
charge be made ; but some people, rather than pay 
twenty-five or fifty cents for packing fifty trees, would 
expose themselves to the risk of losing all. Purchasers 
should invariably charge the nurseryman to whom they 
send their orders, to 2>ccGh hi the hest manner. Better pay 
one or even two cents per tree for packing, than lose it or 
injure it so much as to make it almost worthless. 

The mode of packing pursued here is this : Where the 
trees are 2>acked in bundles, a number of ties are first 
laid down, then a layer of long lye straw, three or four 
inches deep ; the trees are then laid compactly together, 
straw being placed among the tops to prevent their being 
chafed when drawn together, and damp moss from the 
swamp is shaken among the roots. When the bundle is 
built, long straw is placed on the top as below, and it is 
then bound up as tightly as it can be drawn. Straw is 
then placed around the roots sufiiciently thick to exclude 
the air, and then a bass mat is sewed on over the straw. 
If the bundle is only to go a short distance, the straw 
can be so secured around the roots that the mats may be 
dispensed with ; but if it has a long journey to perform, 
it should be matted from bottom to top, and sewed with 
strong tarred spun yarn, about as thick as a goose quill. 
Boxes are rather more secure for very long journeys ; 
they should be made of white wood, or some light timber 



TAKING UP TREES FROM THE NURSERY. 153 

that holds nails well. If the trees are composed of seve- 
ral varieties, they should be tied in small parcels of fom' 
to six each, according to the size. The sides and ends 
of the box should be well lined with straw, and the 
roots bedded in moss and the tops in straw, to prevent 
chafing. 

If the box be large, two rows of cleats are necessary — 
one in the middle and one in the top, to hold the trees in 
their place and to keep the box from spreading. When 
the box is nailed up, it should be banded at both ends 
with iron hoops, fastened with wi'ought nails. Packed 
in this way, trees may go any distance with safety. The 
season of the year modifies the mode of packing. The 
roots should always for a long journey be immersed in a 
thin mud before being packed, as this excludes the air ; 
but in the fall, this mud should be dry before the package 
is made up, and the moss should contain very little mois- 
ture. In a frosty time the less moisture there is about 
the roots the better ; but an abundance of straw should 
be used to exclude the air and frost. 

Heeling in. — When trees are taken up, and cannot be 
either packed or planted at once, they are laid in by the 
roots in trenches ; the longer they have to remain in this 
situation the better it should be performed. Trees are 
often wintered in this way, and if the trenches are dug 
deep, and the roots well spread out and deeply covered, 
they are perfectly safe. It should be done in such cases 
with almost as much care as the final planting of a tree. 
When great bundles of the roots are huddled in together, 
and only three or four inches of earth thrown over them, 
both air and frost act upon them, and they sustain serious 
injury. Tender trees likely to sufier from the freezing of 
the shoots, should be laid in an inclined, almost horizon- 
tal position, and be covered with brush, evergreen boughs, 
or something that wiU break off the violence of the wind 



154 THE NUESEEY. 

and frost. Straw should not be nsed, as it attracts vermin. 
Some rough litter or manure should also be thrown around 
the roots, and in this way the most tender of all our fruit 
trees may be wintered with safety. 



PART iir, 



THE LAYING OUT, ARRANGEMENT AND GENERAL MAN- 
AGExMENT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF PERMANENT PLAN- 
TATIONS OF FRUIT TREES, SELECTION OF TREES, AND 
VARIETIES, AND PRUNING AND CONDUCTING TREES 
UNDER VARIOUS FORMS. 



CHAPTEK I. 

PERMANENT PLANTATIONS OF FRUIT TREES. 
Section 1. — ^The Different Kinds of Plantations. 

These are of several kinds, and may be classed as fol- 
lows — 1st. The Family OrcJiard^ which is a portion of 
the farm set apart for the production of the more hardy 
and common fruit, principally apples, for the use of the 
farm stock and the family. 2d. The Market or Commer- 
cial Orchard, is a large plantation of the various species 
of fruit trees for the production of fruit as an article of 
commerce. 3d. The Fruit Garden^ with the Farmer is 
a plot of ground near the dwelling, in which the finer 
fruits, as pears, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, &c., 
and all the small fruits are cultivated. In many cases, 
and even in most cases, it is a portion of the kitchen gar- 
den, where the table or culinary vegetables are grown. 
With the professional man, the merchant, the mechanic, 
and others who reside in cities, villages, and their suburbs, 
possessing but small tracts of land, at most but a few 
acres, the fruit garden is the only source for the supply 
of fruits for their families, and is usually planted with 
the more rare, perishable, and valuable sorts that cannot 
so easily be procured in market. 

The pleasure and profit derived from fruit plantations. 



158 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

under any or all of these circumstances, depend upon 
the judicious selection of soil^ situation^ trees ^ and vct- 
rieties^ and tJieir jprojper arrangement and management. 
These are the essential points, and every man who con 
templates planting to a greater or less extent, should 
avail himself of all the light which exj)erience has shed 
upon these various branches of the subject, before making 
the first movement towards the execution of his project. 

Section 2. — The Oechaed. 

The orchard is distinguished from the fruit garden in 
this, that the trees planted in it are generally of the larg- 
est size to which the species attain ; they are grown in 
the natural, or, as it is called, standard form, without any 
particular training, and the varieties are generally the 
most hardy and productive of the species. 

1. The situation of an orchard with regard to exposure 
or aspect, requires very little consideration in some parts 
of the country. Where, as in Western I^ew York for in- 
stance, the winters are uniform, or comparatively so, in 
temperature, and late spring frosts do not prevail, the 
main difficulties to guard against are the prevailing high 
winds from the west and north that injure the blossoms 
and blow oif the fruit before it is mature. If possible, 
a situation should be chosen where some natural obstacle, 
as a hill or a belt of woods, would break the force and 
influence of these destructive winds. Where no such 
obstacle naturally exists, a belt or border of rapid grow- 
ing trees, such as soft maples^ white pines ^ and Abeles, 
should be planted simultaneously with the planting of 
the orchard, that they may grow up and form a protec- 
tion by the time the trees have come into bearing. 

In other sections, as in some of the central and south- 
ern counties of IS^ew York, and in some parts of Ohio, 



THE OECHARD. 159 

Illinois, Wisconsin, and others of the western as well as 
in the southern States, where late and fatal spring frosts 
prevail, the selection of a situation is a most important 
point. In such localities an eastern and southern exj^o- 
sure, and low grounds, are to be avoided. 

John J. Thomas, in his Fruit Culturist, states that, " In 
the valley of the Conhocton, which is flanked by hills five 
hundred feet high, peach trees have been completely 
killed to the ground, but on one of the neighboring hills, 
five hundred feet above, and probably twelve hundred 
feet above the level of the sea, an orchard planted in good 
soil yields regular crops. In the town of Spencer, Tioga 
County, near the head of Cayuga inlet, peaches have with- 
stood the climate and done well at an elevation of seven 
hundred feet above Cayuga Lake." Lawrence Young, 
Esq., Chairman of the Kentucky Fruit Committee, reported 
to the Pomological Convention at Cincinnati, in 1850, the 
case of an orchard in that State, lying within the peach 
district, occupying the slopes of hills of no great height, 
inclining gently toward a river distant only a few hundred 
yards. Its success was that common to a fickle western 
climate — a fruit year and a failure, or perhaps two years 
of productiveness and three of disappointment in every 
five. 

Within five miles of this orchard, however, is located 
a hill six hundred feet high, upon which the peach crop 
has not failed since he first knew it. Numerous other 
instances are quoted and the particulars given with great 
accuracy, showing the efiects of even very slight eleva- 
tions. 

Among others is an instance of the heath-peach bearing 
a full crop in one part of an orchard, whilst in another 
part thirty feet lower, the same variety bore not a single 
fruit. Multitudes of such cases might be collected in all 
parts of the country where the climate is variable, because 



160 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

in sucli situations vegetation is earlier excited than in those 
more elevated and colder, and frosts always fall more 
heavily on low than on high grounds. Every one who 
has paid the slightest attention to the action of frost on 
vegetation is aware, that even an elevation of two or three 
feet of one portion of the same field or garden above the 
other frequently proves a protection from an untimely frost. 
In a dry and firm soil, vegetation is more exempt from inju- 
ries by frost than in a damp, soft, and spongy soil on the 
same level, not only because trees on such soils are more 
mature and hardier in their parts, but because the soil and 
the atmosphere above it are less charged with watery par- 
ticles that attract the frost. Bodies of water that do not 
freeze in winter, such as some of our inland lakes, exert a 
favorable influence for a considerable distance from their 
margins in protecting vegetation from late spring and 
early autumn frosts. 

In some parts of the West, as in Wisconsin and 
Illinois, the winters are so variable — during the day as 
mild as spring, and in the night the mercury falling 
many degrees below zero — that even apple and pear trees 
in soft, damp, and rich soils, are frequently killed to the 
ground. 

In such localities, experience has taught cultivators 
that elevated, dry, firm, and moderately rich soil, that 
will produce a firm, well-matured grow^th, is the only 
safeguard against the destruction of plantations in the 
winter. In all localities where fruit culture has made 
any considerable progress, there is generally experience 
enough to be found, if carefully sought for and collected, 
to guide beginners in fixing upon sites for orchards ; and 
no man should venture to plant without giving due 
attention to the subject, and availing himself of all the 
experience of his neighbors ; for experience, after all, is 
the only truly reliable guide. 



THE ORCHAItD. 161 

2d. The Soil. — Having treated already of the different 
characters and modes of amelioration of soils, it is only 
necessary here to point out what particular qualities or 
kinds are best adapted to the different classes of fruit 
trees, as far as experience will warrant in so doing. There 
are soils of a certain texture and quality, in which, by 
proper management, all our hardy fruits may be grown 
to perfection. For instance, the soil of our specimen 
orchard, which is that usually termed a sandy loam^ with 
a sandy clay snlsoil^ so dry that it can be worked imme- 
diately after a rain of twenty-four hours. On this we 
have apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and, 
indeed, all the fruits planted promiscuously, side by side, 
not by choice but necessity, and all these yield bountiful 
crops of the finest fruit every season, and that, so far, 
without any special attention in the way of manures or 
composts. Our country abounds in such soils, and others 
somewhat different in character, but equally eligible for 
all fruit trees when well managed. On the other hand, 
there are soils wholly unfit for fruit trees of any kind — 
such are peaty or mucky, and damp, cold, and spongy soils. 
For an orchard of apples or pears, a dry, deep, substantial 
soil, between sandy and a clayey loam, and possessing 
among its inorganic parts a considerable portion of lime, 
is, according to all experience, the best.''^ On such soils 
we find the greatest and most enduring vigor and fertility, 
the healthiest and hardiest trees, and the fairest and best- 
flavored fruits. Trees both of apples and pears, planted 
on such soils in western Xew York, upwards of fifty 

* The ashes of the bark of apple trees disclose the fact, that in one 
hundred parts upwards of fifty are lime. In the sapwood eighteen of lime, 
seventeen of phosphate of lime (similar to bone earth), and sixteen of 
potash. In the heart or perfect wood, thirty-seven of lime. In the ashes 
of the sapwood of the pear of one hundred parts, twelve of lime, twenty- 
seven phosphate of lime, and twenty-two of potash. In the ash of the 
bark, thirty of lime. 



162 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

years ago, are, at this day, in the very height of their 
vigor and productiveness, without having received more 
than the most ordinary culture. In some of these soils, 
where the pear and apple flourish so well, and endure so 
long, the peach does not succeed at all. The reason is, it 
is too stiff and compact. 

The plum succeeds best, as a general thing, on a clayey 
loam, rather stifil The Canada or native plum, however, 
succeeds well on very light soils. The clierry^ the jpeach^ 
apricot^ nectarine^ and almond^ require a light, dry, and 
warm soil, and will not succeed on any other. The best 
and most enduring peach orchards are on dry, sandy 
loams ; but good orchards are raised with proper manage- 
ment on loose, light sands, though on such the trees are 
shorter lived, and require constant care in the way of 
dressings of manure and compost. There are two points 
to be observed in regard to soils under all circumstances. 
They must ]30ssess the inorganic substances, such as lime, 
potash, etc., that constitute a large portion of the ashes 
of the wood and bark when burned, and a sufficient 
amount of organic matter, vegetable mould, which dis- 
solves and furnishes material for the formation and 
growth of new parts. When large and permanent plan- 
tations are to be made, it will well repay the trouble and 
expense of procuring the analysis of the soil, in order to 
ascertain somewhat correctly its merits and defects. 
People who have been long engaged in the culture of the 
soil, can judge pretty correctly of its quality by its 
appearance, texture, subsoil, and the character of the 
rocks and stones that underlie and prevail in it ; but the 
inexperienced do not understand such indications, and 
will do well to have recourse to a careful analysis by 
some competent person. 

3d. Preparation of Soil for an Orchard. — The season 
before planting, the soil should be at least twice ploughed 



THE OECHARD. 163 

with a common and subsoil plough, enriched with suitable 
composts, and drained, if necessary. It should be eighteen 
inches to two feet deep, and quite dry. 

4:th. Enclosures. — Before a tree is planted, it is neces- 
sary that the ground be enclosed with a fence, sufficient 
to protect it against the invasion of animals. It is no un- 
common thing to hear people regret that the cattle broke 
into the orchard and destroyed many trees. Indeed it fre- 
quently happens that more damage is done in this w^ay 
than, if duly estimated, would have fenced the whole 
orchard. There is much inquiry now-a-days on the subject 
of fences, and various plans and materials are suggested 
and tried. Live hedges are unquestionably the most orna- 
mental and appropriate enclosures for extensive planta- 
tions of fruit trees, and in time will no doubt be generally 
adopted. Hitherto the failure of many plants tried, and 
the cost and difficulty of obtaining others, have retarded 
their introduction. Experience, however, has at length 
pretty fairly decided that the Osage orange is the hest for 
the west and sonth west^ and the huchthorn for the north 
and east. The seeds of both these plants are now easily 
procured, and plants of them may be obtained in nurseries 
at $5 or $6 per 1000, and about 2000 will fence an acre of 
ground, setting the plants twelve inches apart in two rows 
six inches apart, which is the strongest way. A single 
row at six inches apart will make a good fence with pro- 
per shearing to thicken them at the bottom ; either way 
they will make a beautiful and efficient hedge in five or 
six years. The honey locust is also a strong, hardy, rapid 
growing plant, and makes a hedge in three or four years 
that animals will be afraid to look at. It is sometimes 
objected to hedges that they harbor birds, but it is to be 
remembered that birds are the natural foes of insects, and 
never fail to accomplish a vast amount of labor for the 
good of the fruit grower, for which they ought to be fully 



164 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

entitled to a particii^ation in his enjoyments. As the fea- 
thered race are persecuted and driven away from onr gar- 
dens, insects become more mimerons and destructive ; at 
least this is the experience of most people, and should 
lessen, if not entirely prevent, the cruel hostility that is 
continually waged against them. 

5th. — Selection of Yarieties of Fruits for cm Orchard. — 
This is a most important point ; the selection of varieties 
must in all cases be made with reference to the uses to which 
they are to be apj^ropriated. The family orchard of the far- 
mer, w^e will suppose to contain apple trees alone, as all the 
other fruits are, or ought to be, grown inthe fruit ga?'den. 
His selection of varieties must be adapted to his wants 
and circumstances. In the first place, the number of his 
family must regulate the proportion of kitchen and table 
varieties. In the second j^l^ce, he must consider how- 
many he will want for sauce, how many for Ijaldng and 
drying, how many for cider, and how many for the dessert, 
and w^hat proportion of sweet and of acid. These are all 
considerations that depend upon the habits, taste, and 
mode of living of families, and for which no man can 
provide, or suggest, but the jDlanter himself. Then, again, 
he must consider to what extent it may be advantageous 
to feed apples to his stock, and provide for it accordingly. 

Without considering well all these points, a man may 
sit down and select what are called " the best varie- 
ties," and yet find himself badly suited when they come 
to bear ; for so it happens that a variety that may be 
hest for the dessert will be exceedingly unprofitable for 
other purposes. A hardy, vigorous, and productive variety 
of medium quality, quite unfit for the table, may be infi- 
nitely more advantageous for feeding stock, than a feeble 
growing, shy bearing variety, quite indispensable for the 
dessert ; and an a23ple may be excellent for sauce, for bak- 



THE OKCHAIiD. 165 

mg, or drying, and unfit for the dessert; these points 
should all be duly considered. 

The Marhet or Coininercial Orchardist must exercise 
the same discrimination in the selection of his varieties, 
adapting them to the mode of culture he intends to pur- 
sue and the market he intends to suj^ply. In the imme- 
diate vicinity of large cities and towns, where the or- 
chardist may carry his fruit to market in a few hours, 
the most profitable culture wdll, generally speaking, be 
summer and early autumn fruits, or such as require to be 
consumed immediately after maturity, and are unfit for 
distant transportation. Early apples and j)ears only wdll 
be profitable for him, because the autumn and winter va- 
rieties can be sent so easily from the most distant portions 
of the interior with such facilities as our present system 
of railroads, plank roads, canals, and steamboats afford. 
In addition to early apples and pears, his position gives 
him great advantages for the profitable culture of all the 
stone fruits^ gooseberries^ currants^ rasjiberries^ grajpes^ 
and such soft fruits, when intended to be disposed of in a 
raw state. 

The Market grower of the interior will find his most 
profitable culture to be principally, autumn and winter 
apples and pears^ to which he may add quinces; because 
all these can be packed and transported to a great dis- 
tance with safety, and the comparative cheapness of his 
lands enables him to compete advantageously with those 
more favorably situated in regard to market. He can 
only cultivate the summer fruits with a view to drying 
or preserving, or for the supply of a local demand. All 
orchard fruits, intended for profitable orchard culture, 
should be first^ in regard to the trees, hardy ^ vigorous^ 
and productive. The fruits should be of good sise^ fair 
appearance.^ good keepers.^ and of good qualify. It should 



166 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

be borne in mind that many of the very best fruits are 
very unprofitable for general market culture. Under cer- 
tain circumstances this may not be the case, as for exam- 
ple, in the neighborhood of such a city as London^ or 
Paris^ or even New York or Boston. A class of people 
are to be found in such places, who will pay almost any 
price for extra fine fruits. Where apples can be sold for 
$2 per bushel, pears at $1 per dozen, grapes at $1 per 
pound, and other fine fruits in proportion, growers are 
warranted in cultivating very choice sorts, even if they 
be difiicult to manage and comparatively unproductive. 
As a general thing, however, taking the markets as they 
are, the great bulk of consumers preferring fruit of toler- 
able good quality and moderate prices, to the very best 
at twice or three times the ordinary price, the most 
profitable varieties will be those that can be produced at 
the least expense, provided always that they be good j for 
fruits of a decidedly inferior quality, whatever may be 
their other merits, are wholly unworthy of cultivation for 
the market. Another thing is the selection of varieties 
that succeed best in the locality w^here they are to be cul- 
tivated. A variety that succeeds remarkably well in any 
particular locality should, other things being nearly equal, 
be cultivated largely. The Newtown jpippin apple, for 
instance, is a profitable orchard fruit on Long Island and 
on the Hudson, but in Western New York, no system of 
management would make it yield one-fourth as much net 
profit as the Northern Sjyy.^ JRhode Island Greening., or 
Hoxhury Itusset. Large plantations, for profit, should 
always be made uj) of well proved varieties, that have 
been tested in the locality, or one similar in regard to 
soil and situation. A list of select varieties will be given 
in a succeeding and separate part of the work. 

6th. Selection of Trees. — For the farmer's orchard, 
where the ground anions: the trees is to be cultivated 



THE ORCHARD. 1C7 

mainly with the ]3longh, and occasionally cropped, stand- 
ard trees, with stems four or five feet in height, will he 
the most eligible, and ought to be at time of planting 
three or four years old from the bud or graft, w^ell grown, 
with stout, straight, well proportioned trunks. Low, stout 
trees are always preferable to tall, slender ones. Inexpe- 
rienced planters are generally more particular about the 
height than the diameter of the trunk, but it should be 
just the other way. If trees are stout, and have good roots, 
a foot in height is comparatively unimportant, unless to 
one who wishes to turn cattle into his orchard and have 
the heads of his trees at once out of their way. Few peo- 
i:»le, however, follow such a practice. In very elevated 
and exposed situations low trees are to be preferred, as the 
wind does not strike them with such force as it does the 
tall ones. 

7th. Arrangernent of the Trees. — Tlie distance between 
the trees in an apple orchard should be thirty feet from 
tree to tree in all directions. In a very strong and deep 
soil, where the trees attain the largest size, forty feet is 
not too much, especially after the first fifteen or twenty 
years. There is a great difference between the size that 
different varieties attain, and in their habits of growth. 
One will attain nearly double the size of another within 
ten years. Some are erect in their habits (as fig. 3) ; oth- 
ers spreading (as fig. 5) ; and it w^ill add greatly to the 
symmetry of the plantation, if the trees of the same size 
and habit of growth be planted together. Yarieties that 
ripen about the same time should also be planted together, 
as the maturity can be more easily watched and the fruit 
gathered with much less inconvenience. The laro-est 
fruits being most liable to be blown off*, should be placed 
in the least exposed quarter. 

The ordinary aiTangement of orchard trees, is the 
square or regular form, in rows the same distance apart, 



168 



PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



and an equal distance between each tree. Tlius, in plant- 
ing a square of one hundred feet, for example, the trees 
to be twenty-five feet apart, we commence on one side, 
laying a line the whole length. On this line we measure 
off the distances for the trees, and place a stake indicat- 
ing the point for the tree. Thus, in fig. 93, we have 
five rows of five trees each, making twenty-five in all, 
and all twenty-five feet apart. This is the simplest, and 
probably the best for very small orchards. The better 
plan for large orchards is what is called quincunx (fig. 
9:t), in which the trees of one row are opposite the spaces 




JO 20 30 40 SO 

_l \ 1 I L_ 



Fig. 93, square planting. Fig. 94, quincunx planting. 

in the next. In this way, although the trees are at equal 
distances, there is a larger clear area around each tree. 
In fig. 94, the square form, every tree stands in the corner 
of a square in the centre of, and equally distant fron 
four others. In the quincunx, every tree stands in the 
angle of a triangle of equal sides, and in the centre of, 
and equally distant from six others. Thus, in the latter, 



THE ORCHARD. 169 

there is a greater space left for the admission of light and 
air, and trees so planted may be at less distances than in 
the other. The operation of planting is more compli- 
cated than that of the square, the rows not being the 
same distance apart as the trees are in the row. The 
first thing to be done is to find the two measures. Sup- 
pose, for instance, we propose to plant a plot of ground 
one hundred feet square, and to have the trees twenty- 
five feet apart every way, we make a triangle of wood, 
A^B^D^ each side of which is twenty-five feet ; we then 
measure the distance from the angle B to the centre of 
the opposite side at (7, and this gives us the distance be- 
tween the rows, w^hich will be about twenty-one feet. 
This wdll be called the small measure ; and with thiS we 
measure ofi:' on two sides the distances for the rows, and 
put down a stake at each. We then commence on the 
first row, and with the long (twenty-five feet) measure 
mark oft' the places for the trees, and put down a stake to 
each. The measurements must be made with exactness, 
in order to have the plantation present a regular apj^ear- 
ance, as in fig. 94. 

8th. Selection of Trees for the Ifarhet or Commercial 
Orchard. — The remarks made in reference to the selec- 
tion of standard trees for the family orchard, may be 
applied with equal propriety to these ; but the orchardist 
must be supposed to have invested a considerable amount 
of cajjital, and probably devotes his entire attention to 
his trees, and depends upon them for his support. It is, 
therefore, a great object with him to have early returns 
in the form of products. An orchard of standard apples 
will not produce any considerable quantity of fruit before 
the eighth or tenth year, nor pears before the twelfth or 
fifteenth year. In the mean time, it is highly desirable 
to occupy the ground amongst the trees in some way that 
will at least bear the expenses of cultivation. If this 
S 



170 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

can be done, it is as mncli as can be expected in the 
nsual practice of cultivating root crops. The most pro- 
fitable manner of turning to account the spaces between 
the standard trees for the first ten or twelve years at 
least, is to plant them with dwarf and pyramidal trees, or 
dwarf standards, that will commence bearing the third or 
fourth year after planting. This is the course pursued by 
the orchardists of France and Belgium, where land is 
valuable, and the cultivators are compelled to turn every 
inch of it to the best account. Attention has been 
slightly called to this mode of management in this 
country, and a few persons have already carried it into 
j^ractice. As soon as it comes to be considered, it cannot 
fail to recommend itself to those who are embarking 
extensively in the orchard culture of fruits for the 
market, on high-priced lands. It is only surprising that 
it should have been so long overlooked by shrewd and 
enterprising orchardists. An acre of land, for example, 
planted with standard apple trees, at thirty feet apart, 
contains forty-five to fifty ; and if we fill up the spaces 
with dwarfs on paradise, at six feet apart, leaving ten 
feet clear around each standard, we get in about five 
hundred dwarf trees. These will bear the third year, 
and during the next five years the average value of their 
products will be at least twenty to fifty cents each. We 
would plant them in such a way that the plough and 
cultivator could be used among them, two dwarfs be- 
tween each standard, and two full rows between each 
row of standards, as in fig. 95. 

In very rich and deep soil, when it may be necessary 
to give the standards thirty-five or forty feet, there may 
be two pyramidal, or low standards, on the Doucain 
stock between two standards, and one row of pyramids 
and two rows of dwarfs between two rows of standards 



THE OECIIARD. 



ni 



Li seven or eight years the dwarfs might be taken out, 
and the pyramids remain till the twelfth year. 

Orchards of standa/rd pears may, in the same manner, 
be filled up with dwarf and pyramidal trees on the quince. 
Standard pears do not require so much space as apples 
their branches generally are more erect. In this country 




^ 



^ J 



iL_ (l_ iL_ ii_ ^ 



i_^^^ 



0- 



^ 



•L. 



i^ '^ (L- 

^ A ^ A '^ 



A 



1. 



Fir,. Oo. Fig. 96. 

Fig. 95, orchard of standard and dwarf apple trees. Fig 96, orchard of 
standard and dwarf or pyramidal pears. 

standard pears should not have naked trunks over four 
feet high at most, and twenty-five feet apart is quite suf- 
ficient ; at this distance an acre will contain about seventy 
trees. These, as a general thing, will not begin to bear 
until the tenth year, unless artificial means be resorted to. 
By jDutting one pyramid, or low standard, between each 
in the same row, and a row ten feet apart between each 
row of standards, as in fig. 96, we can plant 250 dwarfs, 
or pyramids, that will commence bearing the third year, 
and will be in full bearing the fifth ; yielding not less 
on an average than $1 to $2 per tree. 



172 



PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



To give trees a perfectly pyramidal form requires con- 
siderable care and skill in their management. This will be 
spoken of presently in treating of the fruit garden ; but 
very beautiful and prolific low standards may be made on 
the quince, with stems about two feet high, and the heads 
above that point left to branch in their natural way. 
Trees of this form bear full as soon as the pyramids, be- 
cause they are pruned less ; they may always be relied 
upon for a crop the second or third year after planting. 
We have gathered U23wards of fifty large and perfect spe- 
cimens from trees four years old, and many had been 
thinned off. Trees of the white Doyenne have produced 
upwards of twenty very large specimens the third year, 
from the bud. Fig. 97 is a portrait of a four-year-old Louise 
Bonne de Jersey, on quince, never pruned. 

In selecting pears on the 
quince for profitable orchard 
culture among standards, va- 
rieties should be chosen that 
succeed particularly well on 
the quince, such as Louise 
tonne de Jersey^ Duchess 
d? Angouleme^ Beurre^ Diel^ 
Bartlett^ White Doyenne^ Vi- 
car of Winl'Jield^ Gloiit Mor- 
ceau^ Easter Beurre^ &c., &c. 
All these, and many others 
that will be named hereafter, 
grow vigorously, bear early, 
and produce larger, and in 
all resj^ects finer fruit on the 
quince than on the pear. S. 
B. Parsons, Esq., of Flushing, 
Long Island, of the well known nursery firm of Parsons & 
Co., has planted an orchard of four acres with 440 stand- 




Fir.. 97. 

Half standard pear tree on quince. 



THE OECIIAED. 1T3 

ard pears at twenty feet a2:)art, and among these he planted 
pears on quince ten feet apart, which gives him 1320, 
making the whole number 1T60 on the four acres. The 
ground he selected was an old jDasture with a light loamy 
soil, but not inclining to sand, and a subsoil of hard pan. 
This he planted with corn until the ground was w^ell mel- 
lowed, and then put in two sloop loads, or 3000 bushels 
of stable manure, worth on the ground $1Y5. The first 
year after planting he cropped the orchard with corn, but 
found it injurious to the trees ; since that he has cropped 
it with potatoes and sugar beets alternately, and with good 
management these can be made to pay for the manure, 
and sometimes the labor. All those on their own root, 
except one row, are the Lawrence^ a native Long Island 
variety, and those on the quince the Glout Iforceati^ 
Vicar of Winkfield^ Louise Bonne de Jersey^ WinteT Ne- 
lis^ Lawrence^ and Beiirre d^Arremherg. He adds, that 
at the time of writing, December 10, 1850, some of 
the Yicar of Winkfield trees planted in 1849, had fifty to 
seventj^-five fruit buds each, and expects them to produce 
the fifth year from planting, one dollar per tree. Within 
the past two years, several extensive plantations, w^holly 
of pears on the quince, have been made, and considering 
the quick return they yield, their prolific nature, and the 
number of trees that can be planted on a small space of 
ground, they cannot fail, under good management, to 
prove highly profitable. Peach trees should be thrifty 
yearlings that have not been pruned up during the sum- 
mer, the side branches having been shortened only, and 
regulated by pinching. At the time of planting they may 
be pruned up, so as to leave three feet of a clean stem. 
They may be set at the distance of fifteen feet, and even 
twelve wall be found quite sufiScient, if the heads are 
annually pruned, as w^ill be directed hereafter. The 
peach growls so rapidly, and commences to bear so soon. 



174: PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

it would not be advisable to plant any fruit trees in tlie 
spaces, unless currants or gooseberries ; a row or two of 
which might be put between two rows of the peaches for 
the first four or five years after planting. Standard cher- 
ries on mazzard stocks should not be over two years old 
from the bud, with stems five feet high. In the west and 
south, vs^here the trees are subject to the bursting of the 
bark on the trunk, it is advisable to have the trees 
branched as near the ground as possible ; and in such 
cases the Malialeb stock is better than the mazzard, as 
it makes lower, more compact, and fertile trees. Or- 
chards of pyramidal, or low dwarfs, on the Mahaleb may 
be planted at twelve feet apart, or the ground may be 
more compactly filled by planting standards and dwarfs 
alternately, as in the case of the pears. 

Apricots on peach stocks may be planted in the same 
soil, and should be of the same age and character as the 
peaches. On plum stocks they are better adapted to 
heavy soils. Plum trees for orchard standards should be 
about two years old from the bud or graft, with stems 
about three feet high. The stone fruits in particular 
should have low stems, as they are more subject to the 
gum on the trunk if pruned up high. They may be planted 
at fifteen feet apart, the same as peaches and a23ricots. 
Quinces should be two years old at least, and may be 
three from the layer, cutting, or bud, with a stem two feet 
high, clear of branches : they may be planted twelve feet 
apart, which gives about 300 to the acre. 

9th. Pruning and Preparing the Trees for Planting. — 
When a tree is taken up from the nursery, it unavoidably 
loses some of its roots, and others are more or less muti- 
lated ; the roots frequently sufier, too, by long carriage or 
exposure, and in this state it is unable to su2323ort the 
entire head as it came from the nursery. This has been 
previously explained. In order that a tree may grow, it 



THE OECHAKD. 175 

is necessary that a balance should exist between the stem 
or branches and the root ; consequently, when a tree is 
transplanted, its branches should be reduced by shorten- 
ing so as to correspond with the roots. A standard tree 
that has four or five branches forming a head, should be 
pruned at the time of planting to wdthin three or four 
buds of the base of each of the branches. These remain- 
ing buds, receiving all the nourishment, will push vigor- 
ously ; whilst if the branches had been allowed to remain 
entire, they would have required a greater supply of food 
than the roots could have furnished, and the tree would 
either have died or made a very feeble grow^th. Every 
bud we leave on the top of a tree, w^ill produce either 
leaves or shoots, and these are so many new individuals" 
requiring sustenance. If we leave on one hundred, it is 
plain the demand will be much greater than if w^e leave 
only twenty. The roots must be dressed by cutting back 
all bruised points to the sound wood, with a smooth cut 
on the under side of the root. Trees thus prepared are 
ready for planting. 

10th. Planting 'Orchards. — ^When the soil has been 
thoroughly prepared by subsoil ploughing, or trenching 
and manuring the season previous, the planting is a sim- 
ple matter, but if this has not been done, planting properly 
requires considerable labor ; for large holes three or four 
feet wide and two feet deep must be dug for the trees, 
and the requisite composts procured to be mixed with the 
earth in which the roots are to be placed. "Whatever ma- 
nures be applied at this time should be perfectly decom 
posed ; as, if fresh and warm, they will burn the roots. Trees 
are often killed in this way. The planting offers an excel- 
lent opportunity for supplying any defects in the soil ; for 
instance, if too compact, sand, leaf mould, muck, &c., may 
be added to render it more porous ; and if too light, clay, 
Btiif loam, ashes, ttc, may be added to make it more 



176 PEEMANE^'T PLANTATIONS. 

retentive. The proper way to furnish these materials is 
to dig large holes and put a good bed, twelve to eighteen 
inches deep, of the compost in the bottom under the trees. 
Lime should form a part of all composts, and especially 
for the apple and pear ; half a peck may be mixed with 
the bed of each tree in soil not naturally calcareous. In 
dio-mno; the holes, the ffood surface soil should be laid on 
one side, so that it can be used to fill in among the roots, 
and for this purpose it should be as finely pulverized as 
possible. 

When the compost has been laid in the bottom of the 
hole, and a layer of fine surface soil spread over it, so as 
to be highest in the centre, the tree is set on it, so that 
wdien the planting is finished, the collar will be about two 
inches below the surface. In the case of trees on dwarf 
stocks, such as peare on quince, all the stock must be under 
the ground. The roots must be carefully adjusted so that 
each one is sj^read out in its natural position ; the fine 
earth is then filled in amongst them so that no vacancies 
will be left ; the upper roots should be held back by the 
person who holds the tree until the lower ones are covered. 
When the filling in is half done, it may be gently trodden 
down with the fi)ot, so as to give the tree a firmer hold of 
the ground. In advanced spring planting, a pail of water 
might be given to each tree when the earth is filled partly 
in ; at other times it is unnecessary, if not injurious. 

11th. Staking. — Where the trees are large, or the situa- 
tion is exposed, either one or two stakes should be planted 
with each tree, to which it must be kept fastened for the 
first season, until the roots have fixed themselves in the 
ground. A proper provision must be made to prevent the 
tree from rubbinrr or chafino: as^ainst the stake. When 
two stakes are used it may be fastened to each in such a 
way as not to rub against either. 

12th. MulcMng. This should be looked upon as an 



THE ORCHARD. 177 

indispensable o^Deration in all cases. It consists in laying 
on the surface of the ground, around the trees, to the dis- 
tance of three feet or so, a covering of half decomposed 
manure, saw dust, spent tan-bark, &c., two or three inches 
deep. This prevents the moisture of the soil from evapo- 
rating, and maintains a uniformity of heat and moisture 
which is highly favorable to the formation of new roots. 
It also prevents the growth of weeds around the tree, and 
obviates the necessity of hoeing, dressing, or watering, 
during the season. "We frequently practise it among nur- 
sery rows of late spring-planted trees with great advan- 
tage. A deep mulching should always be given to fall- 
planted trees to prevent the fi'ost from penetrating to the 
roots or drawing up the tree. 

13th. After-management of Orchard Trees. — ^This con- 
sists in the cultivation of the soil among the trees, and 
pruning them to regulate their growth. For the first five 
or six years after planting, the ground among orchard 
trees may be advantageously cropped with potatoes, ruta- 
bagas, or sugar beets. The manuring and culture that 
these roots require, keep the soil in good condition, and 
will assist in defraying the expenses of the orchard. 
Grain crops should never be planted among trees, as they 
deprive them of air to a very injurious extent. If no 
root cro2:)s are cultivated, the ground should be kept clean 
and mellow with the one horse plough and cultivator, the 
same as recommended for nursery culture. Every third 
or fourth year, the trees should receive a dressing of well- 
decomposed manure or compost adapted to the wants of 
the soil and the tree, worked in around the roots with the 
forked spade. This should always be done in the fall. 
Dwarf apples and pears require more frequent and libe- 
ral manuring than standards, because their roots occu^^y a 
limited space ; their heads are large compared with the 
roots, and they bear exhausting crops. Whoever has a 



178 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

large plantation of these trees, should be well provided 
with heaj^s of compost a year old, and give each tree a 
peck to half a bushel before the setting in of winter 
every year. This will maintain their vigor, and ensure 
large and regular crops of fine fruit. Directions for 
pruning and forming the heads of standard trees, will be 
treated of under the general head of pruning. 

Section 3. — The Fkuit Garden. 

The fruit garden is a plantation of fruit trees intended 
to supply the family with fruit. In some cases, where a 
large supply of fruit is wanted, and the proprietor has 
land and means to warrant it, a certain portion of ground 
is wholly devoted to it ; and in others, it forms a separate 
compartment of the kitchen garden, or is mixed with it — 
the fruit trees occupying the borders or outsides of the 
compartments, and the culinary vegetables the interior. 
The latter is most general, in this country, at the present 
time. In a country like ours, so well adapted to fruit 
culture, where almost every citizen of every rank and 
calling not only occupies but owns a garden, and, as a 
general thing, possesses sufficient means to enable him to 
devote it to the culture of the higher and better class of 
garden productions, the fruit garden is destined to be, 
if it is not already, an object of great importance. In 
the old countries of Europe, the rich alone, or those com- 
paratively so, are permitted to enjoy such luxury; for 
land is so dear that working people are unable to pur- 
chase it, and if they are, they are either unable to stock 
it with trees, or their necessities compel them to devote it 
to the j)i'oduction of the coarsest articles of vegetable 
food that can be produced in the greatest bulk. It is not 
BO in America. Here every industrious man, at the age 
of five-and-twenty, whatever may be his pursuits, may, 



THE FKUIT GAEDEN. 179 

if he choose, be the proprietor of a garden of some ex- 
tent, and possess sufficient means to stock it with the 
finest fruits of the land. 

The present actual state of the population gives abun- 
dant evidence of this happy and prosperous condition. 
Let us look at our cities and villages. In Rochester, 
excepting a narrow circle in its very centre, every house 
has its garden, varying in extent from twenty-five l3y one 
hundred feet to an acre of ground ; and not one of these 
but is nearly filled with fruit trees ; and so it is, but on a 
larger scale, in all the villages of western New York — a 
section of country in which the first white man's settle- 
ment can scarcely date back over fifty years. Aside 
from the beneficial results to individual and public health 
and prosperity from tliis general union of the fruit garden 
and the dwelling, it cannot fail to exercise a softening 
and refining influence on the tastes, habits, and manners 
of the people, and greatly strengthen their love of home 
and country. 

The great thing wanting at this moment, is a knowledge 
of the correct method of planting and managing fruit 
gardens. We cannot pass along the streets a rod, where 
there is a garden, without seeing and feeling that three 
fourths of the profit and j^leasure which gardens might 
aftbrd, are sacrificed to bad management, arising, in the 
main, from ignorance of the proper modes of culture 
adapted to such limited grounds ; and it is hoped that the 
suggestions and plans offered in the following detail of 
fruit garden management, may afford at least a portion 
of the information wanted. 

The lurmation of a fruit garden requires a consideration 
of the soil^ situation^ enclosures^ laying out^ selection of 
trees^ selection of varieties^ smd planting. 

1st. The Situatimi. — This is generally governed by the 
particular circumstances of the proprietor, those only 



180 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

^vllo bnlld with reference to the location of tlie garden, or 
who have a large domain at their disposal, having an 
opportunity of selection to anv considerable extent. Per- 
sons who live in cities and villages, have to make the 
Lest of their situation. As it is, if it be exposed, they can 
only give it protection by lofty enclosures, that will break 
the force of the winds. The aspect they cannot alter, and 
must adapt other circumstances to it. Those who can 
should select a situation convenient enough to the dwell- 
ing, to render it at all times easy of access, in order to 
save time and labor in going to and from it. It should 
also be sheltered from the north and west winds. Tlie 
former are destructive to the blossoms in spring, and the 
latter frequently blow off the fruit before its maturity. 
In sections of the country subject to late spring frosts, an 
elevated situation is to be preferred, as in the case of 
orchards. A fidl eastern or southern aspect should be 
avoided, because in them the sun's rays strike the trees 
while the frost is upon them, and produce injuries that 
would be avoided in other aspects. Where artificial 
shelter is required, a belt of rapid-growing trees, com- 
posed of evergreens and deciduous trees mixed, should be 
planted on the exposed side, but at such a distance as to 
obviate any difficulty that might arise from the injurious 
effects of shade, or from the roots entering the garden. 
Such a belt of trees might, at the same time, be made to 
impart a pleasing and highly ornamental appearance to 
the grounds. 

2d. The Soil is a most important consideration. As in 
a warden a ereneral collection of all the fruits is to be 
grown, and that in the highest state of perfection, the soil 
should be of that character in its texture, depth, and 
quality, best adapted to general purposes. It should not 
only be suitable for the apple and the pear, but for the 
peach, the cherry, and the plum — a good, deep, friable 



THE FEUIT GARDEN. 181 

loam, witli a gravelly clay subsoil, and entirely free from 
stagnant moisture. In this country, our warm summers, 
and frequent, protracted droughts, render a deep soil for a 
garden absolutely necessary. Tioo feet is little enough, 
and three would be still better. The means for deepening, 
drying, improving, and changing the character of soils 
have been already pointed out under the general head of 
soils, and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say, 
that it will always be found true economy to be liberal in 
the first preparation of the soil ; for after a garden is laid 
out and permanently planted, improvements are always 
made with greater difficulty and expense. 

Enclosures, — ^The cheapest and most ordinary kind of 
enclosure for gardens in this country, is the tight board 
fence, and the picket or paling fence. The former should 
be made of stout cedar posts, set at six feet apart, and 
three or four feet in the ground, the ends being previously 
charred to increase their durability, connected in the mid- 
dle and on the top with cross-bars or rails which may be 
two by four inches. The boards should be well seasoned, 
matched, and securely nailed to the cross-bars. "Where the 
fence is required to be higher than the posts, the boards 
can extend above the top rail two, three, or even four 
feet, if necessary. The picket or paling fence is made in 
the same way, as far as the framework, posts, and cross- 
bars go ; but, instead of matched boards, pickets, from 
three to six inches wide, and pointed on the top, are used, 
and a space of two inches left between each. Where the 
proprietor can afford the expense of a brick or stone wall, 
it will prove the most permanent, and, in the end, the 
cheapest enclosure. The height of the fence or wall 
depends somewhat on the extent of the garden. In ordi- 
nary cases, eight or ten feet is the proper height, but when 
the garden is very small, five or six feet is enough ; and 



182 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

the ojDen paling will be j)referable except on the north 
side, to the tight board fence, as it offers less obstruction 
to the air and light. A high fence around a very small 
garden, besides being injurious to vegetation in it, looks 
quite out of character, giving to it the appearance of a 
huge box. Live hedges, as recommended for orchards, 
might be employed around country gardens of considera- 
ble extent, say an acre or u]3wards, but they require to be 
kept in the neatest possible condition. 

Trellises. — In England, and other parts of Europe, 
where the summer temperature is not so high as it is here, 
espalier trees are trained directly on the garden walls or 
fence ; but our hot sun renders this unsafe, except in the 
case of the grape, or on the north sides of the walls. The 
sun strikes the south side of a fence with such force that 
the foliage in contact with it is burned. It is therefore 
necessary, where the walls or fences are to be occupied 
with espaliers, to erect suitable trellises at the distance of 
six to twelve inches from them, on which to train the trees ; 
the form of these differs according to the nature of the sub- 
ject to be trained. They are generally made of upright 
and cross bars, of inch boards three inches wide, placed 
within six to twelve inches of each other, according to the 
growth of the species ; the larger the foliage and the 
longer the shoots, the greater may be the distances ; thus, 
the grape twelve inches, and the peach eight. Sometimes 
they are constructed of wooden bars and wire rods alter- 
nately ; these answer a good purpose for the grape, as it 
fixes itself to the wires by the tendrils. The trellis is fast- 
ened to the wall by iron hooks, and should stand a little 
farther from it at the bottom than at the top, for the pur- 
pose of giving the tree a better exposure to the sun, rain, 
&c. Fruits are grown so successfully in this country in 
the open ground that walls or trellises are seldom used, 



THE FRUIT GAEDEN. 188 

excej^t to economize space. In the north, however, where 
the more tender fruits do not succeed in the open ground, 
w^alls may be advantageously employed, as the trees 
trained on them are easily protected both from winter and 
spring frosts. 

Laying mit the Fruit Garden. — ^This is the arrange- 
ment or distribution of the ground into suitable plots or 
com23artments, necessary walks, etc. The mode of doing 
this depends on the size of the garden, and the manner in 
which it is to be planted. Fruit gardens, properly speak- 
ing, are such as are wholly devoted to fruits ; but a very 
common form, as has been already observed, is the mixed 
garden, where a portion only is devoted to fruits, and 
the remainder to culinary vegetables. We will first con- 
sider 

The Fruit Garden proper. — In all fruit gardens the 
number of walks should be no greater than is absolutely 
necessary for convenience. In small places the better 
plan appears to be, to carry the principal walk around 
the outside, leaving as much as possible of the interior, 
where air and light are enjoyed to the greatest extent, for 
the trees. A border should be left between the fence and 
the walk, of sufficient width for the trees to be trained on 
the fence trellis. If appearances were to be strictly ob- 
served, this border should be as w^ide as the fence is high, 
but as a general thing five to six feet will be sufficient ; 
and where ground is limited, appearance must in many 
cases be sacrificed to economy. Where the w^ork is all 
performed by manual labor, the w^alks need not be more 
than five to six feet wide, as that admits of the passage of 
a wheelbarrow ; and this is all that is required. 

Fig. 98 is a design for a very small garden fifty feet by 
one hundred. A is the entrance gate, four feet wide ; 
5, B., a walk five feet wide ; (?, C\ fence border, six feet 



184 



PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



w de. The rows of trees are eight feet apart. The py- 
ramidal pears 
and cherries, 
]S^s. 1, 2, 3, 
and 4, at seven 
feet a23art in 
the row. l^os. 5 
and 6, dwarf ap- 
ples, at four feet 
apart. 'No. 7, 
pyramidal or 
dwarf standard 
plums, at seven 
feet. ISTos. 8, 
^ 9, and 10, low 
fa standard peach- 
es, at ten feet 
apart, the out- 
side ones four 
feet from the 
walk. ISTos.ll, 
12, 13, and 14, 
low standard 
quinces, etc. 
JSTos. 15, 16, ir, 
18, 19, and 20, 
espaliers, apri- 
cots, gra]3es,etc. 
One border is 
filled with gooseberries and currants, the other can be 
occupied with raspberries and strawberries. This ar- 
rangement gives in this little garden twenty pyramidal 
trees, thirteen standards, twelve dwarfs, six espaliers, 
besides space enough for two dozen currants, two dozen 
gooseberries, two dozen raspberries, etc. For several years 




THE FRUIT GARDEN. 185 

a few sti*awbemes and low vegetables, such as lettuce, 
radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, or even dwarf peas, may 
be grown in the spaces among the trees, but in no case to 
be permitted nearer than within three feet of the tree. 

A walk through the centre would be necessary, and 
this should be ten feet wide, and there should be a turn- 
ing place left at the end opposite the entrance. -> 

The mixed^ or fruit and kitchen garden^ is laid out in a 
similar manner ; the trees are planted in rows on a bor- 
der six to ten feet wide, according to the size of the trees, 
along the walks, leav^ing the interior of the compartments 
for vegetables. This arrangement is a very common one, 
and generally answers a very good purpose ; but where 
it is practicable, it is much better to devote a separate jjor- 
tion exclusively to fruit, in order that the one may not in 
any way interfere with the other. In such a garden, the 
number of the walks, and consequently fruit borders, 
will depend upon the proportion of the ground intended 
to be allotted to fniit, and this again will be regulated by 
the means, tastes, and demands of the family. - 

Fig. 99 (see frontispiece) is the ^^lan of a mixed fruit 
and kitchen garden, one hundred and fifty feet wide by 
two hundred long, being one hundred and ten square rods, 
somewhat less than three quarters of an acre. The de- 
sign is to have two tree borders exclusive of the outside 
or fence border. Tlie centre main walk from A to C^ is 
ten feet wide. That crossing it in the centre six feet 
wide. The small walk next the fence border four feet 
wide, and that between the two tree borders five feet. The 
fence border is six feet wide, and may be planted with 
espalier trees, vines, etc., besides currants, raspberries, 
strawberries, or anything of low growth, not requiring the 
fullest exposure. The tree borders are all eight feet wide, 
except the dwarf apple border, which is only six. The 
outside border is planted on the two sides with low stand- 



186 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

ard peaches, apricots, plums, quinces, etc., at twelve feet 
apart, and the two ends with pyramids at eight feet. 

The inside borders are planted with pyramids and 
dwarfs, the former at eight, and the latter at six feet 
apart. A, is the entrance ; jB, well or cistern ; C^ a space 
to turn a horse and cart upon. This arrangement gives 
thirty standard trees, eighty-three pyramids, and forty 
dwarfs, leaving clear the outside border over six hundred 
and sixty feet long and six wide, and the four interior 
compartments each about thirty by sixty feet. In crop- 
ping the latter with vegetables, they may be divided as 
in the design into narrow beds three or four feet wide, 
separated by paths eighteen inches wide. 

WalJcs in the Fruit Garden. — ^The number of these, as 
has been remarked, should be simply sufficient for con- 
ducting the operations of gardening with convenience ; 
this being jDrovided for, the fewer the better. Where 
horse labor is employed, the main walk, either through 
the centre or around the sides, should be nine or ten feet 
wide. "Where manual labor alone is employed, as in 
small gardens, five or six feet will be sufficient, and even 
four feet, as that admits of the passage of a wheel-barrow. 
Between each compartment, or line of trees, there should 
also be a path two or three feet wide, as a passage for the 
gardener or workmen, and others who may desire to 
inspect the trees. Where the expense can be afforded, 
the mains walk should be gravelled so as to be dry and 
comfortable at all seasons and in every state of the wea- 
ther ; for it is presumed that every man who has a fruit 
garden, worthy of the name, will wish to visit it almost 
daily, and so will the members of his family and his 
friends who visit him. The labor and expense of making 
a walk depends upon the nature of the soil. If dry, 
w^ith a porous subsoil, absorbing water rapidly, six 
inches of good pit gravel, slightly rounded on the t<^p. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 187 

will be sufficient. If the soil be damp, and the subsoil 
. compact, it will be necessary to remove the eai'th to the 
depth of a foot in the centre, and rising towards the sides, 
so that the excavation will resemble a semicircle ; this is 
filled with small stones and a few inches of good pit gravel 
on the top. This makes a walk dry at all times. We 
often see very comfortable and neat looking walks, made 
of spent bark from the tannery ; six inches deep of this 
will last two or three years, and no excavation is neces- 
sary in any kind of soil. It is not to be supposed that so 
great expense will be incurred, in any case, in the forma- 
tion of the walks of a fruit or kitchen garden, as those of 
a pleasure ground or flower garden, and, therefore, it is 
unnecessary to suggest either costly modes or materials. 
The chief point is to secure dry, comfortable walking, 
without introducing any material that will produce a 
decidedly unpleasant contrast with vegetation. This can 
all be accomplished by the cheap and simple means 
referred to, and others that may suggest themselves. 

The main walks alone should be gravelled ; the smaller 
alleys or paths between the diiferent lines of trees or com- 
partments of the garden are principally for the use of the 
workmen. In very small gardens, where it is imjDortant 
to economize the ground, the spaces devoted to the walks 
may be of plank raised up on pillars or blocks a foot from 
the ground ; the roots of trees can then j^enetrate the ground 
below the walk as well as the border, and scarce any 
ground will be lost. 

Water. — A supply of water in the garden is a most 
important consideration in our warm, dry, sunny climate. 
Good crops of culinary vegetables cannot be secured in 
many seasons without a liberal application of water, and 
fruit trees are greatly benefited by frequent showering, 
especially in dry weather. It refreshes them and drives 
away insects. A good well or cistern should therefore 



188 PEKMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

be provided in every garden, and be situated as near the 
centre as possible, to be convenient to all parts. 

SELECTION OF TKEES. 

1st. Tlieir Form. — We start npon tlie principle that, in 
all cases, tall standard trees, siich as are usually planted 
in orchards, are totally unfit for the garden. This is the 
one great and universal defect in American fruit garden- 
ing. The trees for a fruit garden should be all either 
dwarf standards., with trunks two to three feet high, 
pyramids^ branched from the ground, or hushes with 
stems six to twelve inches high. Trees in these forms 
are, in the first place, in keeping with the limited extent 
of the garden, and convey at first sight the idea of fitness. 
In the second j^lace, they give a great variety on a small 
space, for three or four such trees will not occupy more 
space than one standard. In the third place, they are in 
a convenient form for management, they are easily pruned 
or protected, and the fruit is easily gathered and less 
likely to be blown off than on tall trees. In the fourth 
place, they bear several years sooner than standards, 
especially pears and apples. 

Among the forms mentioned, the pyramid is certainly 
the most l)eautiful ; and in the best fruit gardening 
regions of Europe, where almost every conceivable forai 
of tree has been tried, it is to-day the most popular, 
because it has proved the most advantageous and success- 
ful. The ajjple for pyramids should be on the Doucain 
stock. Certain varieties, such as the Hav^thorndean^ Kes- 
wich Codlin^ Summer Rose., Duchess of Oldenhurg., and 
many other moderate growers and early bearers, will 
make good pyramids on free stocks, but they will require 
more summer pruning and careful management to keep 
their vigor under check than they would on the Doucain. 



THE FKUIT GAUDEN. 



189 



But apples for the fruit garden, even on tlie Doucaiii, 
should be such as naturally make small trees and are 
inclined to early bearing. In these respects it is very 
well known there is a wdde difference between varieties. 
Those mentioned above, and others similar in character, 
frequently bear, on free stocks in the nursery rows, at the 
age of three or four years from the bud, whilst others do 
not bear until eight or ten years old. This is a point that 
should always be looked into in selecting garden trees, for 
it is the natural and proper desire of every one who 
jjlants a tree in the garden to obtain fruit from it as early 
as possible. 

The Apjple for Dwarfs. — The apple, Avorked on the 
paradise, makes a beautiful little dwarf bush. We know 
of nothing more interesting in the fruit garden than a row, 
or a little square, of these miniature apple trees (fig. 100), 
either in blossom or in 
fruit. Those who have 
not seen them, may 
imagine an apple tree, 
four feet high, and the 
same in width, of 
branches covered with 
blossoms in the spring, 
or loaded with magni- 
ficent golden and crim- 
son fruit in the autumn. 
They begin to bear the 
third year from the bud, 
and the same variety is 
always larger and finer 
on them than on standards. We had Red Astracans on 
paradise the past season, that measured eleven inches in 
circumference. The French plant a square or compart- 
ment of these in the kitchen or fruit garden, as they do 




Fig. 109. 
Dwarf apple tree. 



190 



PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



gooseberries and currants, six feet apart, and call it the 
-' Normandie; they also alternate them with pyramidal 
pear trees in rows ; and in some of the best mixed kitchen 
and fruit gardens, two dwarf apples are planted between 
two pyramidal pears, thus giving double the number of 
them as of the pears in a border or row. In small gar- 
dens the apple should not be admitted under any other 
form, and even to a limited extent in that, for it is the 
great fruit of the orchard^ and in nearly all parts of this 
country they are extensively grown, and can be purchased 
at very moderate rates. 

The Pear^ as a Pyramid (fig. 101). — The pear is emi- 
nently the tree for 
the pyramidal form, 
either on the free 
stock, or on the 
quince ; on the latter, 
however, the trees 
bear much earlier, 
are more prolific, 
more manageable, 
and consequently 
preferable for small 
gardens. On the pear 
stock they require 
constant summer 
pruning and pinch- 
ing, and in some 
cases, root pruning, 
to subdue the natu- 
ral vigor, and induce 
early fruitfulness. 
Certain varieties, 
however, do not suc- 
ceed on the quince. 




Fig. 101. 
ryramidal pear tree, 7 feet high— 4 feet wide at the 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 191 

but the majority of melting varieties do, and produce larger 
and finer fruit on it than on the free stock. The tardiness 
of bearing of the pear tree, when grown in the ordinary 
standard form on jDear stock, has, more than any other 
cause, retarded its general cultivation. I^o better proof 
of this can be adduced than the general partiality now 
shown for trees on quince stocks, that bear at the age of 
three or four years. The introduction of these trees, a 
few years ago, was really the first thing that gave a general 
imj^ulse to pear tree planting. With most people, it is a 
very important thing to obtain fruit in two or three years, 
instead of Vv^ aiting eight or ten. The best management of 
trees on free stocks, cannot bring them into a bearing state 
short of six or seven years, unless it be some remarkably 
precocious variety. People, therefore, who wish pear 
trees for pyramids that are easily managed, and will bear 
early, will select them on quince stocks, in case the va- 
rieties they wish to cultivate have been ^^roved to succeed 
well on it. 

The Pear in the chuarf standard form^ as in the 
pyi-amidal, is much easier managed, and bears much 
earlier on the quince than on the pear; indeed, these trees 
are as easily managed as a standard apple tree. There 
are some dwarf standards on the quince in our grounds 
here, and in gardens in this city, that are now eight years 
old, and about seven to eight feet high, with trunks from 
two to three feet, heads four to five feet high, and three 
or four feet in width, that have borne regular and heavy 
crops for the last four or five years, without any other care 
than thinning out superfluous wood. The Cherry is as 
easily managed in the p^a^amidal form as the pear, not 
only the free-growing sorts, Hearts and Bigarreaus^ but 
the Diikes and MoreUos ; the latter, however, are less 
vigorous, and more easily managed. All should be 

worked on the niahaleh stock ; this has the same effect on 



192 



PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 



tlie clieriy, to a certain extent, as the quince has on the 
pear. After the second or thiid year's growth, it subdues 
their vigor, and induces fruitfulness. We have a collec- 
tion of upwards of thirty varieties, of four to five years 
old, that are now fine pyramids, from five to eight feet 
high, and they have all borne since the third year, and we 
find them quite as easily managed as the pear. The 
Dukes and Morellos should be chosen, where very small 
trees are desir- 
able, as they can 
be grown in 
bushes like the 
apple on the pa- 
radise stock, at 
five feet apart. 

Fig. 102 is 
the portrait of a 
dwarf Florence 
cherry tree, 

given by Mr. 
Rivers, in his 
Miniature Fruit 
Garden, only 
two years old, 
bearing fruit. 
Our dwarfs fre- 
quently bear the 
third year. 

Tlie Plum as a Pyramid. — ^The plum has rarely been 
cultivated as a pyramid, but recent experiments prove 
that it is 'quite suscej)tible of that form under proper 
management. It should be worked on a stock calculated 
to subdue its natural vigor. The native or Canada plum 
answers a good purpose, the mirobalalan or cherry plum, 




Fig. 102. 
Dwarf cherry, two years from bud, bearing. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 193 

and the sloe (pruniis spinosa) dwarf it, to a still greater 
extent. Snmmer pruning and pinching, as well as occa- 
sional root ]>runi ng, are all necessary to check the vigor 
of most kinds, and keep them in suitable dimensions for 
small gardens where it is necessary to plant them close. 

The Plum as a Dvxtrf Standard. — Besides the pyra- 
mid, this is the only form in which the plum should be 
admitted in the garden. The dwarf standard, with a 
trunk two or three feet in height, and a symmetrical 
round head, is a very pretty and appropriate form, and 
requires less skill and care in the management than the 
pyramid, and by proper management the trees require 
but little if any more space. 

The Peach. — The best garden form for the peach is 
that of the dioarf standard^ with a trunk eighteen inches 
to two feet. AVith proper management, which will here- 
after be described, this form is easily conducted, even 
when the trees are on peach stocks. The plum stock, and 
especially the sorts recommended for dwarf plums, gives 
trees that are less vigorous and more easily kej)t in a 
small space. In nearly all parts of our country the 
fruit ripens perfectly in the open ground, so that espalier 
training, as has been remarked, is seldom practised, 
unless to save ground ; or in northern localities, Avhere 
protection of the buds during winter, or of the blossoms 
in the spring, is necessary. In such cases alone are 
espaliers to be recommended, as they require much greater 
care in pruning and training than in any other form. 
Espalier trees are of various forms, but the fan., as it is 
termed, is the best adapted to the peach. It consists of 
two main branches or divisions of the stem, S23read out in 
the form of a Y ; each of these bears a certain number, 
as many as may be necessary to fill the trellis, of second- 
ary branches, and these fm'nish the bearing wood. The 
9 



194 PEEMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

production and management of this and other espalier 
forms, will be treated fully under the head of pruning 
and training. 

The Ajpricot and Nectarine. — The remarks applied to 
the peach apply with equal force to both these trees ; they 
succeed equally well as low standards, or as espaliers. 
The apricot is more generally grown in this form than 
any other tree, because its early blossoms are so easily 
protected, and the curculio does not appear to be so 
troublesome to it as in the standard form. 

The Quince., in the garden, should either be a dwarf 
bush, with a stem twelve to eighteen inches high, and a 
compact, symmetrical head, or a pyramid. In the latter 
form it is quite easily conducted, but requires more care, 
of course, than as a bush, as the upper part of the tree 
must be always kept subordinate to the lower, and this 
requires a regular and constant attention. 

The Filhert. — ^The remarks on the quince may be 
applied with equal propriety to the filbert, as regards 
form. The lush branched from the ground, and the low 
standards with two feet stems, are the ordinary forms ; 
but in some of the French gardens it is conducted with 
great success as a pyi-amid. 

These are the principal trees of which it is necessary 
to speak in regard to form. Other species will be referred 
to under the head of pruning. Having now pointed out 
the most eligible forms for garden trees, and their respec- 
tive advantages, planters will be able to make a choice 
adapted to their tastes and circumstances. Those who do 
not employ a professional gardener, and who have but a 
small portion of spare time to devote to their garden, 
should by all means adopt such forms for their trees as 
require the least skill and labor, provided always that it 
be appropriate to the size of the garden, and consistent 
with good management. 



THE FEUIT GARDEN. 195 

The next point to be considered is, 

The Age of the Ti?w5.— Tliis will depend very mncli on cir- 
cumstances. For pyramidal trees it is jet difficult, almost 
impossible, to obtain in the nurseries specimens of more 
than one year's growth that are suitable. The yearlin2:s 
are never sufficiently cut back, nor the branches of the 
second and third year so managed as to have the requisite 
proportion of length and vigor to fit them for being mould- 
ed, with any ordinary treatment, into a perfectly pyramidal 
form. If suitaljle trees cannot be found of two or three 
years from the bud or graft, vigorous yearlings, worked 
at the ground, should be chosen, as they are in a condition 
to take easily any required form ; and though fruit may 
not be so soon obtained from them, yet they will in the 
end be much more satisfactory ; for, unless a right begin- 
ning be made in the training of a tree in any form more 
or less artificial, no art can afterwards completely correct 
the errors. If we take a two or three year old tree, man- 
aged in the nursery, as usual, with a naked trunk two to 
two aiid a half feet from the ground, and a branching 
head, or what is nearly as bad, a few weak side branches 
below, overrun with strong ones above, the most severe 
process wnll be necessary, in order to produce lateral 
branches in the proper place ; and thus, as mucli time 
will be lost as would bring forward a yearling, and the 
tree will not be so perfectly formed, so healthy, nor in any 
respect so satisfactory. The general impatience that exists 
in regard to the growth and bearing of trees is the great 
cause of this defective character w^hen taken from the nur- 
sery. The nurseryman is averse to cutting back his trees, 
as they lose a year in height, and planters or purchasers 
are not generally discriminating enough to be willing to 
pay him a proportionate price. He finds tall trees more 
attractive. AV^hen planters do get these trees, they cannot 
be persuaded to cut them down ; they wish to obtain 



196 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

fruit as soon as possible, and therefore the tree is allowed 
to proceed in the defective form it assumed at the mir- 
sery. 

For Dwarfs and Dwarf Standards^ it is less difficult to 
obtain the right sort of trees, for this is the form that nur- 
serj trees that have not been cut back, ordinarily assume. 
Those, therefore, who prefer such trees can alw^aysbe sup- 
plied with them well advanced, even in a bearing state if 
so desired. As in the pyramid, however, persons who 
intend to make models of their trees, will do well to pro- 
cure yearlings worked at the surface of the ground, for on 
them heads or lateral branches can be formed without any 
difficulty at any desired 2:)oint betw^een the collar and ter- 
minal bud. Another consideration is w^orthy of note on 
this point. There is a much greater risk in removing 
three or four year old trees than yearlings, and they are 
more difficult and expensive to pack and transport. The 
yearling is easily removed and easily transported, and its 
growth is comparatively unaffected by the change. The 
gardeners most famous for their handsome, well managed 
fruit trees, invariably select yearling trees, that is, trees 
that have made one year's growth from the bud or graft. 

Selection of Yarieties. — The selection of varieties of 
fruits for a fruit garden should be made in view of all the 
circumstances that can affect tlieir usefulness. They 
should be adapted to the soil, and more particularly to the 
climate. It is w^ell known that in every section of the 
country, certain varieties seem to succeed remarkably 
well, whilst others, of the greatest excellence elsewdiere, 
entirely fail. Our country is so extensive and embraces 
such a variety of climate that it is impossible that the 
same varieties should succeed equally w^ell in all parts ; 
and planters should consider this well. Those who have 
had no experience in cultivation, nor a proper opportunity 
for acquiring knowledge on this point, should consult otli- 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 197 

ers. Any intelligent nurseryman who has a correspond- 
ence with all parts of the country, and is thoroughly alive 
to all the branches of his profession, and the results of 
experience, can aid planters greatly in making appropriate 
selections. It is true that the amount of knowledge col- 
lected on this head is yet comparatively small, and quite 
insufficient for a general guide, but it is every day accu- 
mulating, and what there may be, is well woi-thy of atten- 
tion. The experience of fruit growers, as elicited at recent 
pomological conventions, has brought to light a multitude 
of highly important facts, bearing on this very point. 
These will be more particularly noted when we come to 
the description of fruits. 

Yarieties should he adapted hi their growth to tJieform 
tJiey are to be grown in, and to the extent of the Garden. — 
For pyi-amidal trees, varieties should be chosen whose 
habits of growth are regular or slightly spreading, the 
branches assuming more of the horizontal than the 
uj^right, and those disposed to branch low down should be 
l^referred to those of an opposite habit. "Where the gar- 
den is small, moderate or slow growers should be pre- 
ferred to rapid and vigorous growers. They should also be 
well adapted to the stock on which they are worked. This 
is a very important point, but one on which only a few 
persons in this country have yet acquired any considera- 
ble amount of actual experience. Still, many important 
facts have been gathered, and it becomes every planter to 
avail himself of them. If he plants pears on quince stocks, 
for instance, it is important to know that certain varieties 
are much better on that stock than they are on the pear ; 
and that others fail, and are worthless on it. 

The varieties should he adapted to the wants and wishes 
of the planter. — Those who plant fruit gardens have not 
all the same objects in view. One man plants his garden 
for profit, to supply his family with good fruits. This is 



198 PEEMANENT PLAJ^TATIONS. 

his main purpose. He should, therefore, select the A-ery 
best varieties, considering not the quality alone, but their 
productiveness and other useful properties. Such a per- 
son has no desire for a large collection, but looks merely 
for an assortment that will yield a succession of ripe fruits 
during the season. Another who regards the mere value 
of the fruit less than amusement, recreation, and exj^eri- 
ment, will make his collection as varied as possible. 
Where any particular class of fruits can be had very 
cheap in market, it should be planted sparingly in the 
garden, so that such as may be scarce or dear can be 
grown in larger quantities. It is only by taking all these 
into account, that planters can hope to make their fruit 
garden answer their particular views and purposes. 

The planting of a fruit garden should be considered as 
of equal importance, as far as the doing of it well is con- 
cerned, wdth the building of a dwelling. This is constructed 
with a view to the convenience of the family, and is, 
therefore, in all its parts, supposed to be adapted to their 
w^ants and mode of living. The fruit garden is intended, 
also, to promote the comfort and convenience of the 
family, and should, like the dwelling, in all respects be 
as nearly as possible adapted to their wants and circum- 
stances. Having now treated of the soil, enclosures, 
trellises, w^alks, arrangement, selection of trees and varie- 
ties, we proceed to the taking up of the trees and plant- 
ing. 

Taking uj[> tlie Trees. — ^This has already been de- 
scribed under the head of nursery operations, to which the 
reader is referred. 

Planting has been described under the head of jplant- 
ing tlie orchard ; and the operation being the same in 
both cases, it need not be repeated. 

Tlie arrangement of tlie trees ^ however, is different, 
and this point requires a special notice. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 199 

1st. In regard to position. — Each class of trees, siicli as 
pears, apples, cherries, etc., should he planted together in 
the same rows or division, and if any difference exist on 
the soil, each should be planted in that best adapted to it. 
Thus, plums should have that most inclined to clay ; i:)ears 
and apples, the deepest and richest ; cherries, peaches, 
apricots, etc., the dryest and lightest. 

Where the garden is large, the pyramids should be in 
one compartment, the dwarf standards in another, and 
the dwarf bushes in another ; but where it is necessary 
to economize and fill the ground to the best advantage, 
the dwarf bushes may alternate advantageously w^ith the 
pyramids or dwarf standards, and this especially along 
the walk borders. Varieties, too, of the same, or similar 
habits of growth, should, if possible, be together. The 
espalier trees should be placed so that the earliest blos- 
sonung kinds, such as the apricots, will be most secure 
from the influence of sj^ring frosts "where these prevail. 
The trellis facing the north will be the best for this j)m'- 
pose ; but where it is intended to protect them, the as23ect 
is of little account. In the north aspect, fruits are very 
much retarded in their ripening ; and this circumstance 
may be turned to a good account to prolong the season 
of some late cherries, currants, etc. We have seen fine 
JMorellos in perfection on a north w^all here, in the month 
of September. 

The distance at wliich trees shoidd he planted in tlie 
garden. — This w^ill not be the same in all cases ; for in a 
large garden it is not necessary to plant so close as \\\ a 
very small one, and in a very rich and deep soil, a 
greater distance will be required than in a dry and light 
soil. There is also a great difference in the growth of 
varieties. Some might be planted at six feet apart, and 
have as much space in pro23ortion as others would at 
eight. Thi.s shows that no rule, as regards distance, can 



200 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

be observed in all cases, and this particularly in small gar- 
dens, where advantage should be taken of every circnm- 
stance. In large gardens an uniform distance may be 
adopted, even if some space be sacrificed. The following 
distances may serve as a general guide, and may be in- 
creased or diminished according to circumstances : 



DISTANCES IN THE OPEN GKOUND. 

Apples. — Pyramids on free stock, ten feet apart ; do., on 

Doucain, eight feet apart ; do., dwarf standards on 

Doucain, eight feet apart ; do., dwarf bushes on 

paradise, five to six feet apart. 
Pears. — Pyramids on free stocks, ten to twelve feet apart ; 

do., on quince, six feet apart ; do., dwarf standards on 

quince, six to eight feet apart. 
Plums. — Dwarf standards, eight to ten feet aj^art ; do., 

l^yramids, eight to ten feet apart. 
Clierries. — Pyramids, hearts, and bigarreaus, eight to ten 

feet apart ; do., dukes and morellos, six to eight feet 

aj)art ; do., dwarf bushes of morellos, five to six feet 

apart. 
Apricots. — Dwarf standard on plum, eight to ten feet 

apart ; do., pyramids, six to eight feet apart. 
Peaclies. — Low standards on peach, ten to twelve feet 

apart ; do., on plum, eight to ten feet. 
Nectarines. — Same as peaches. 

Quinces. — Pyramids or bushes, six to eight feet apart. 
Filherts^ do., six to eight feet apart. 
Gooseberries and Currants., four to five feet apart. 
Raspberries., two to three feet apart. 

Mr. Eivers gives the following distances in his " Minia- 
ture Fruit Garden." 



THE FItUIT GARDEN. 201 

Pyramidal Pear Trees^ on quince stocks, root pnincd for 
small gardens, four feet apart. Tlie same, in larger 
gardens, not root pruned, six feet apart. 

Pyramidal Pear Trees^ on the pear stock, root pruned, 
six feet a2>art. The same roots, not pruned, eight to 
ten feet — the latter if the soil be very rich. 

Horizontal Espalier Pear Trees^ on the quince stock for 
rails or walls, fifteen feet apart. 

Uprifjht Espaliers^ on the quince stock for rails or walls, 
four to six feet apart. 

Jloi-'izontal EHpaliers^ on the pear stock for rails or walls, 
twenty to twenty-four feet apart. 

Pyramidal Plum^ Trees^ six feet apart. 

E-Hpalier Plurro Trees^ twenty feet apart. 

J*yramidal Ajr/ple Trees^ on the paradise stock, root- 
pruned for small gardens, four feet apart. The same 
roots not y^runed, six feet apart. 

Eajjalier Aj/ple Trees^ on the paradise stock, fifteen feet 
apart. The same, on the crab stock, twenty to 
twenty-four feet apart. 

Peaches and Nectarines for walls, twenty feet apart. 

Apricots for walls, twenty-four feet apart. 

Cherries^ as bushes on the mahaleb stock, roots pruned for 
small gardens, four feet apart. The same, roots not 
pruned, six feet aj^art. 

Espalier Cherry Trees^ on the mahaleb, for rails or walls, 
twelve to fifteen feet apart. 

DISTANCE FOR ESPALIER TREES ON WALLS OR TRELLLSES. 

The distances between espalier trees must be regulated 
not only by the growth of the species and variety, but by 
the height of the wall or trellis. If these be low, a 
greater length, of course, will be necessary than if high ; 
for every tree must have a certain extent of surface to be 
spread upon. Hence, if a trellis be only eight feet high, 
9^- 



202 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS. 

nearly double the length, and, consequently, double the 
distance between the trees will be required that would be 
on a trellis fifteen or sixteen feet high. As a general 
thing, ])eaches^ apricots^ or nectarines^ on walls or trellisee 
eight or ten feet high, should be fifteen to twenty feet 
apart, if on free stocks, and twelve to fifteen if dwarfed 
on the plum. Cherries^ ten to twelve feet. Our native 
grapes^ Isabella^ Cataiula^ etc., at least thirty feet apart, 
on an eight feet high trellis, as their rapid growth covers 
a great space in a short time. Foreign varieties will not 
require half this ; indeed, the better way is, to keep 
these trained to simple stakes, and planted in the border, 
where their out-door culture is attempted. In this way 
they are easily laid down and protected. 



CHAPTEE II. 

PRUI^INa APPLIED TO THE DIFFEKENT SPECEES OF 

fruit trees under different forms. 
Section 1. — Pruning the Apple and the Peak. 

These two trees belong to the same natural order, jpo- 
7nace(B^ and to the same genus jpyvus ; their habits of 
growth and bearing are similar, and they may therefore 
be treated as regards their pruning, under the same 
head. 

If we take for example a shoot of last season (fig. 6), we 
find it in the spring, before vegetation commences, fur- 
nished on all its length with w^ood buds ; w^hen growth 
commences, the terminal bud, and probably two or three 
of the others nearest to it, produce shoots, the others to- 
w^ards the middle produce small shoots that are in subse- 
quent years transformed into fruit branches (like fig. 10). 
Some do not push at all, but are converted into fruit 
buds (as in figs. 7 and 8), Tvhilst those at the base gene- 
rally remain dormant, until excited into growth by close 
pruning. All the buds on these trees have small incon- 
spicuous buds at their base, which are capable of produc- 
ing shoots when the principal bud is destroyed or injm-ed, 
and these buds render the fruit spurs so enduring. In 
young trees the fruit buds are many years in process of 
formation, and in bearing trees three to four years, accord- 



204 PEUNING. 

ing to circnmstances. "When the trees are not subjected 
to pruning, the result of the mode of growth described is, 
that the terminal buds grow and form one section upon 
another, leaving the lower parts mainly destitute of bear- 
ing w^ood, unless it be an occasional spur, the sap always 
tending to the points. 

1st. Standards. — The management of this form of trees 
has been fully treated of in all our works on fruit culture, 
and in all the agricultural and horticultural journals, so 
that now it is pretty well understood, and especially by 
those who give considerable attention to the subject of 
fruit trees ; it will not be necessary therefore to enter upon 
much detail in regard to it. 

A standard apple or pear tree for the orchard, when 
taken from the nursery to be finally planted out, we will 
suppose to have a straight, stout trunk, four to six feet 
in height, as the case may be, and a head composed of a 
certain number of shoots or branches, but generally shoots 
of one year's growth. At the time of planting, three or 
four of these shoots should be selected to form the main 
branches, or frame-work, on which to build the whole 
head, and the remainder cut clean out; those reserved 
should be cut back full one-half, and from the shoots pro- 
duced on these at and below the cut, two of the strongest 
are selected each on opposite sides, and the others are 
rubbed off while they are soft. In selecting these shoots, 
care must be taken to have them equally distant from one 
another, and j)ointing in such directions as not to cross or 
interfere. 

During the first season these young shoots must be 
watched and kept in a regular state of vigor. If any 
threaten to become too vigorous, they must be pinched 
and checked at once, so that perfect uniformity be pre- 
served. This is the time to secure a well formed and 
nicely balanced head. A very slight circumstance some- 



THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 



205 



times throws the growth into one side or one branch of a 
young tree, and produces a deformitj from which it never 
recovers. The trunk must be kept clear of all shoots, by 
rubbing off such as appear at the earliest possible moment, 
when it can be done without the use of a knife. Sujipos- 
ing we commenced the head with three branches at time 
of planting, there w411 be at the end of the first season, six. 

The attention required after this will be to maintain an 
uniform growth among these six branches, and their mem- 
bers and divisions, and to prevent the growth of shoots in 
the centi-e. The leading defect in all our orchard trees is 
too much icood^ the heads are kept so dense wdth small 
shoots that the sun and air are in a great measure ex- 
cluded, and the fruit on the outside of the tree only is 
marketable or fit for use. The head should be kept open, 
rather in the form of a vase, so that the wood, leaves, 
blossoms and fruit may all, on every part, enjoy the full 
benefit of the sun and air, without which they cannot per- 
form their functions, or maintain maturity and perfection. 

Too many people imagine that trees 
can take care of themselves, as trees in 
the forest, on the ground that nature 
preserves a balance in all her w^orks ; but 
it should be borne in mind that a fruit " 
tree is not. exactly a natural production. 
It is far removed from the natural state 
by culture, and the farther it is removed, 
that is, the more its nature is refined 
and improved, the more care it requires. 
Fig. 103 represents a young standard 
pear tree, stem four feet high, and the 
head twice cut back, as at the letters a ^'°' ^^^' 

-t -J A young standard pear 

^^^'- ^- tree, trunk 4 feet high, 

Pincliing .—li this be properly at- ^^^^^ ^or^i^d on three main 

, 1 -I . T', 1 1 .r« • 'n branches, twice pruned as 

tended to, very little kjiile prunmg will at a and b 




206 PEUNING. 

be necessary, except to shorten the leading shoots, because 
as soon as a superfluous or misplaced shoot appears, it is 
rubbed off, and when one becomes too vigorous, it is 
pinched and checked ; the great advantage of pinching is, 
that 1st., It economizes the sap of the tree. That which 
would be expended on superfluous shoots is turned to the 
benefit of the parts reserved, and thus the growth is greatly- 
promoted. 

2d. All wounds necessarily inflicted, w^here knife prun- 
ing is depended on, are completely avoided. These facts 
should be remembered. Standard apples and pears are 
not generally 23runed with a view to hastening their bear- 
ing, but are allowed to arrive at that state in their natu- 
ral way. In the case of tardy bearing sorts, however, it 
may be desirable to apply artificial means, and these will 
be pointed out in treating of dwarfs and pyramids 
hereafter. 

Dwarf Standards. — ^These are similar to standards, 
except that the trunks are low, not over two or three feet 
in height, and the head is retained in a smaller space. 
Their management is always much easier when the stocks 
are such as to dwarf or restrain the growth. Thus, 
apples on the paradise or Doucain., and pears on the 
quince. The main branches or frame-work of the head, 
are produced by cutting back the three or four branches 
that form the head of the tree as it comes from the 
nursery, in the same manner as recommended for stand- 
ards. 

The first season^ all superfluous productions are rubbed 
off, and a balance maintained among the shoots by pinch- 
ing. 

The second year^ in the winter or spring, the shoots of 
last season are shortened, say one half, as a general thing. 
This induces the development of the buds on their whole 
parts. The cut is made at a good, plump bud, capable 



THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 207 

of producing a vigorous shoot ; and this is selected to 
prolong the branch. If one or two secondary branches 
are needed to iill up a space, those next the leader, if 
properly situated to fill the s]3ace, are chosen, and all be- 
low them are pinched w^hen about two or three inches 
long, in order to check the production of wood where it 
is not wanted, and to convert them into fruit branches or 
spurs. The growth of all the main and secondary 
branches is regulated and balanced by pinching ; and if 
the pinched shoots intended for fruit spurs start again 
into growth, they must be again pinched. 

The tMrd season the shoots of the previous year are cut 
back as before, say to four, five, or six eyes, according to 
their strength. One shoot is chosen to continue the pro- 
longment of the branch, and the others are pinched in 
season to convert them into fruit spurs. Thus the tree is 
conducted from year to year, until it has attained the full 
size required. In this way the trees commence bearing 
quite young, and every branch is furnished in all its 
length with fruit spurs. 

Pyramids. — Under the head of " the selection of 
trees," it has been recommended to obtain thrifty year- 
ling trees in preference to older ones not properly man- 
aged. We will, therefore, begin with the yearling tree, 
and although the management of this the first year after 
cutting back has been given in the nursery, it may be 
well to repeat it here, to save the reader the trouble of 
referrino; back. 

Objects of cutting laclc. — ^The object in doing this is to 
produce branches near the stock that will form the base 
of the future pyramid. If left entire, the tendency of 
the sap to the extremities would produce shoots there 
only, leaving a naked space entirely inconsistent with the 
form in view. We, therefore, reduce the stem to such an 
extent, that but a small number of buds is left on it, 



208 PEUNING. 

and the sap acting on these with great force causes their 
development. 

How far to cut tack. — It is obvious that this must de- 
pend on the character of the subject. In yearling plants, 
both of the pear and a23ple, there is presented a great 
difference in different varieties. Some invariably pro- 
duce lateral branches the first season. The buds are so 
perfectly developed, that when the second growth takes 
place in midsummer, they break and form branches, in 
some cases as much as a foot long, and in others only a 
few inches. Then among the varieties which do not thus 
produce side branches in the second growth, there is a 
great difference in the plumpness and prominence of the 
buds. In some they are larger, and stand out boldly 
from the wood on the whole length of the stem, appa- 
rently ready to push under the least excitement. In 
others they are small, lie flat to the wood, and have 
every appearance of being difficult to excite into growth, 
and especially those towards the base. It should always 
be borne in mind that it is better to cut too low than not 
low enough. The difficulty of cutting too low is, that the 
shoots produced are nearly all of equal length, and a 
certain number of them require to be checked to give 
each one its proper dimensions. The difficulty of not 
cutting low enough is, that wliere we should have 
branches at the base w^e have none, or, if any, they are 
smaller, instead of larger, than those above them. The 
remedy in this case is more difficult than the other. The 
vigorous shoots at the summit must be checked, and 
even the leading shoot, in order to throw back the sap 
into the lower j)arts to act upon the buds there. The 
error w^hich produces such a difficulty, is very common, 
as we know by experience, amongst persons not familiar 
wdth the growth of young trees or the development of 
the buds on their stems. It must be laid down as a 



THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 



209 



general rule, tliat the more feeUe the plant^ and the 
smaller and the more hnjperfectly developed the huds^ the 
lower it is necessary to cut. 

The condition of the roots, too, must be taken into 
account ; for where the roots are weak, broken, or injured, 
and consequently unfit to yield to the stem any considera- 
ble amount of nutriment, the buds will break with less 
force, and a more severe retrenchment will be necessary. 
All these circumstances must be considered. 
For example, we will take a young pear tree 
of one year's growth from the bud, without 
branches (fig. 104), which we will suppose to 
be four feet, which is the ordinary average 
height of yearlings. If the buds are full and 
prominent on it, we cut to a good bud at 
twenty inches from the stock ; but if the buds 
are less prominent, cut to fifteen or eighteen 
inches, and if very feeble, with small buds, 
cut to within twelve inches, or five or six 
buds of the stock. If the roots have been Fig. i04. 
injured much, and the stem somewhat dried '^ yearling pear 

'' . n T . , T tree without bran- 

or shrivelled, it should be cut to within three ches. The cross- 
or four buds of the base. These different I'"" '''^''^''' "^^ 

first pruning or 

cases are mentioned because it frequently cutting back. 
happens that persons who live at a great distance from 
nurseries, find their trees frequently, on their arrival, in 
the condition described, and it is necessary that a course 
of treatment for them should be indicated. The bud cut 
to, should, if possible, be one of the best on the stem, and 
be on the side of the tree opposite that in which the bud 
was inserted, so as to continue the stem in a straight line. 
It is a great advantage to have a tree well established 
in the ground, before cutting it back to produce the first 
bi'anches to form the pyramid ; because, in that condition, 
it is capable of producing vigorous shoots the first season. 




210 PRUNING. 

It is on this account that a young tree, cut back in the nur- 
sery, presents a much more perfect form at the end of tlie 
second year, than those that have been transplanted. 
Some of the French cultivators advise to defer the cutting 
back for the formation of the permanent branches, till the 
plant has stood one year after transplanting; but the course 
is attended with many difficulties, and on the whole it is 
better to cut back when the tree is planted, even if we 
obtain but a moderate grow^th, for the older the buds are 
on the lower parts of the tree, the more obstinate and 
unmanageable they are. 

Pruning the Branched Yearling. — Among trees of this 
kind, some have branches a foot or more in length, while 
in others they resemble short, stiff spurs, two to four inches 
long. These two characters require difterent modes of 
treatment. "Where there are branches of sufficient force 
and properly situated to form the first series of main 
branches, they must be treated in the same manner as 
though the tree were two years old. The 
strongest and best situated are selected and 
pruned to within four to six inches of their 
base, according to their vigor and position ; 
the lowest should be not more than six inches 
from the stock. The small, feeble, superfluous 
ones are entirely removed ; the leading shoot, 
which, in such cases, is short and provided 
with plump buds, does not require a heavy 
shortening ; in most cases one half will be 
quite sufficient. Fig. 105 represents a tree 
of this kind ; the cross-lines indicate the cuts. 
Yearling pear tree Wlicre tlic lateral brauchcs are short and 
with branches, the gp||p_iii^e tlicv will require very careful treat- 

pnining indicated ^ t ,j x./ 

by the spaces. mcut ; the strougcst and best placed are 
reserved. If the lower ones have good terminal buds, 
they are left entire; those above them are shortened, the 




THE APPLE AND THE PEAE. 



211 



lower to three, the next above to two, and the uppermost, 
next the leading shoot, to one bud. This will give their 
productions a proper relative degree of vigor. The leader 
is cut back furrier than in the well branched subject, 
because it is presumed the buds are less excitable. As a 
general thing, within four to six buds of the highest lateral, 
or one half of its length. 

There is another class of trees necessary to be noticed 
here, because they are very common — two year old nur- 
sery trees thatliave not heen projperly treated. 
Fig. 106 represents a tree of this kind. A 
few inches only of the top were taken off at 
the commencement of the second year's 
growth, and after that it was left to itself. 
Branches, therefore, were produced only at 
the top, leaving a vacant space of two feet, 
the very part that should have produced the 
first set of main branches. The best disposi- 
tion to make of such a tree would be to con- 
duct it in the form of a dwarf standard, which 
it really is at present ; but it happens that in 
some cases it is desired to convert them into 
pyramids, and therefore it is essential that the 
proper means b« pointed out. Two year old Fig. loe. 
trees, like yearlings, differ materially in the pet ^^e.^ rot' Tit 
character of the buds on the lower part of the tack far enough 

i r\ ji •, • 1 the first season ; 

stem. On some, these are quite promment, so t^e second prun- 
much so as to appear to have made some ad- ^"&' ^o produce 

, , ., 1 M • 1 branches below, is 

vance towards development, while m others indicated by the 
they are quite flat and dormant. It is obvious ^'""^^ ^'"®- 
that trees in the first condition will not require that severe 
retrenchment on the head to produce branches below, as 
the last. In this case it will generally be sufficient, and 
especially if the space between the stock and first branches 
does not exceed two feet, to cut back the leader to three 




212 PRUNING. 

l)iids, and the lateral branches below it to one bud ; but 
when the buds are small and backward, or when the 
branchless space is over two feet in length, the two year 
old wood must be cut back to within eighteen inches to 
two feet of the base. We find that in the case of imported 
trees, or those carried a great distance, and more or less 
injured, nothing short of this severe cutting can ensure 
branches low enough to form a pyramidal tree. It seems 
a great pity to cut back a tree in this manner, and lose a 
year or two of its growth and bearing, but it is absolutely 
necessary when the pyramidal form is wanted. There is 
still another class of trees that we sometimes see sent out 
from the nurseries. These are two or three years old ; 
have been cut back, and are pretty well furnished, in all 
their length, with lateral branches ; but from the want of 
j^roper care, those on the upper jDarts have acquired greater 
vigor than those below, presenting the tree in a situation 
just the reverse, in this respect, of what it ought to be. 
In pruning this subject at the time of planting, the lower 
branches must either be shortened very slightly in order 
to get a strong bud for a leader, or they must be left 
entire, while those above will be cut close ; where we want 
the longest and strongest branches, there we leave the 
most wood. 

The most important pruning performed upon a tree is 
the jvrst one^ for it is this which makes all future manage- 
ment easy and successful, or difficult and unsatisfactory. 
This is the reason why it has appeared necessary to treat 
)f it so minutely. Having encountered all the difficulties 
:hat others are likely to encounter, and having described 
:hem and pointed out the means by which they are to be 
:>vercome, it is believed that the matter has been made so 
])lain, that any man of ordinary intelligence, and possess- 
ing the slightest knowledge of tree culture, can take his 
knife and prepare his trees in such a manner as to give 



THE APPLE AND THE PEAK. 213 

hhii a most reasonable hope of attaining his ends. We 
now proceed to the 

Summer management of trees thus cut hack. — We will 
first consider the case of the yearling without branches. 
If it has been cut low enough, as directed, all the buds 
below the cut will push. As a space of six inches should 
be kept clear between the ground and the first or lowest 
tier of branches, such shoots as may appear on that 
part will be iTibbed off at once. Of the remaining ones, 
a certain number, three to six, according to the length of 
the stem, will be reserved. These must be the strongest, 
and properly situated on the stem, within eight to ten 
inches of space between each branch, and that immedi- 
ately above it, and regularly placed on all sides of the 
stem. Some recommend leaving on all the shoots that 
are produced the first season ; but in certain cases this 
would be bad practice, for if the buds be very close, the 
shoots would be so numerous that the strength of them 
all would be impaired, and much pruning would be 
required the next season. The better way is to select 
such as are wanted, and rub ofiT the others ; the saj) which 
they would have approj^riated will be turned to the 
account of the permanent branches, and increase their 
vigor. The leading shoot must be directed in a straight 
line ; in some cases a support may be necessary. If the 
branches immediately below it are so vigorous as to inter- 
fere with its growth, they must be checked by pinching. 
In some cases it may be necessary to do this when they 
are an inch or two in length. It sometimes occurs that 
the bud cut to is injured by the weather, close cutting, 
or some other cause, and pushes so feebly that the laterals 
below it having more vigor take the lead. This must be 
prevented in time. A proper relative degree of vigor 
must be maintained among all the branches, by checking 
when necessarv the most vio^orous. 



214 



PRUNING. 



The first summer's treatment of the branched yearling 
(fig. 105.) will consist in maintaining a uniform growth 
among the lateral branches, and in the case of the leading 
shoot, as already described. Some lateral shoots will be 
produced on the branches, and these must all be pinched 
at an inch or two, as it is yet too soon to allow of the for- 
mation of secondary branches. The summer treatment 
of fig. 106, the two year old tree, will be conducted on 
the same principles. The encouragement of the leading 
shoot will require special attention to secure it in an up 
right position, as, in many cases, where two year old wood 
is cut back, the leading shoots assume a horizontal or 
curved direction. 

The second jpruning . — We have now a tree composed of 
two sections : the first is the two-year-old 23art, furnished 
with lateral branches ; and the second, the leading shoot 
produced last season. (Fig. 107.) In pruning it, our object 
will be to establish a new section of 
branches on the leader, to continue the 
prolongment of the lower branches, and to 
induce the formation of fruit spurs towards 
their base. To accomj^lish these ends, we 
shorten the leader or stem, on the same 
principle in relation to its character, as 
already directed for the yearling trees, 
>om one-half to two-thirds its length, and 
sometimes more. Every bud between the 
one we cut to and the base of the shoot, 
should 2)ush ; and the bud to produce the 
leader should be large, perfectly formed, 
and oiyposite the cut of the previous year. 
The lateral branches on the first section 




are shortened according to 



their vigor. 



always remembering that the lowest must 
be the longest, to carry out the pyramidal 



Fig. 107. 
A two year old pear 
tree, having made one 
year's growth after the 
first pruning. 



THE APPLE AND THE PEAR. 215 

form. They should also be cut back sufficiently to insure 
the growth of all the buds on them. This point requires 
considerable care, for if not cut back enough, the interior 
of the trees becomes naked, instead of being supplied with 
shoots for bearing spurs; and if cut back too far, the 
shoots will be too vigorous and difficult to control. The 
appearance of the buds, and the habits of the yariety, 
will be a sufficient guide if properly studied. 

Treatment of tlie growing shoots. — ^When the buds haye 
all started and made a growth of an inch or two, their 
force and forwardness will indicate the uses to be made 
of them. Each of the main branches of the first section 
may be considered as a stem ; its leader will require the 
same treatment to favor its extension. At this time a 
secondary branch may be required to fill up the space 
which widens as the branches extend. If so, a shoot is 
selected for this purpose, and all the others on the same 
branch are checked at two inches, and converted into 
fruit branches. All the laterals are treated in this way. 
The second section, now in process of formation, must be 
manaered as directed for the first section. Durins^ the 
first season, the requisite number of shoots is preserved, 
and the superfluous ones removed early. The leader is 
maintained erect ; and the laterals immediately below it, 
beino^ always inclined to visrorous oTowth, must be checked 
to keep them in a proper condition relative to the leader 
and the branches below them. The leading shoot must 
always maintain its pre-eminence. It often happens that 
the lateral shoots of the main branches that have been 
pinched will start and grow again. In such cases an- 
other pinching must be performed within an inch of the 
previous one. As a general thing, this will be sufficient ; 
but if not, a third must be given in the same way ; for if 
they be allowed to extend into wood branches they will 
require knife pruning, and create confusion among all 



216 



PEUNING. 



parts of the tree. A very general error in condncting 
trees of this kind, and indeed all others, is to allow the 
branches to be too close to each other, so that when they 
come to bear, the wood, foliage, and fruit, on the interior, 
are so exchided from the air and light that they all 
suffer. The frnit is imperfect, and the spnrs become 
feeble and gradually perish. The tree has now two 
branclied sections, each from twelve inches to two feet, as 
the case may be, and with four to six branches on each ; 
the leading shoot is from one to three feet in length. 

The a verage height 
of three year old trees, 
on the quince in our 
grounds, transplanted at 
one year old, and twice 
pruned, is five to six 
feet. A fe\v very vigo- 
rous growing varieties, 
that throw up a leader 
every season three to four 
feet in length, are seven 
to eight feet; but these 
are comparatively few in 
number. 

Tliii'd 'pruning . — This 
is done on precisely 
the same imnciples laid 
down for the second. 
The leader of the stems 
is cut back in proportion 
to its vigor, the lateral 
branches are also short- 
ened in the same man- 
ner. It must always be 
kept in mind that the 




Fig. 108. 

A pear tree four years old, three times 
pruned, having three branch sections, a 6, c, 
seven feet high, and furnished in the lower 
parts with fruit spurs. The cross lines indicate 
tlic f'lurtl pruning. 



THE ArrLE AND THE PEAE. 217 

lowest brandies must be longest, and when it happens 
that they do not take their due proportion of vigor, as 
compared with those above them, and if pinching has 
not been duly attended to the past summer, to maintain 
regularity, the w^eaker must now be favored with a long 
pruning. 

Fig. 108 represents a four-year old pear tree of the white 
Doyenne, three times pruned, «, J, c. 

It has been remarked, that the habits of growth and 
bearing of the pear and apple are similar, but it should 
be noted, that in treating them as pyramids, the apple 
tree is more liable to lose its vigor at the top, and there- 
fore it is necessary to keep an eye to this point in their 
management. From wiiat lias been said wdth reference 
to an equal distribution of the sap, the remedy for this 
difficulty will be obvious, viz., to reduce the vigor of the 
lower 2^arts by pinching, shortening, and heavy crops, 
and to favor the upper part by long pruning and thin- 
ning, or wholly removing the fruits. 

Management of the fruit Iranclies. — About the sixth 
to the eighth year, from the first i>runing of the tree, it 
will have attained nearly as great dimensions as in many 
cases will be desirable, and be well furnished with fruit 
brandies. 

After this period, the object of the pruning will be to 
prevent the extension of the tree, and maintain the fi'uit 
bearing parts in a healthy and productive state. Without 
proper care they will be liable to suffer from bearing too 
much, or from the growth of young wood on the extremi- 
ties of young branches. 

To diminish the growth, and favor the fruit branches, 
the young shoots must be pruned shorter than before, in 
order to turn the sap more to the benefit of the fruits, and 
Avhen the fruit spurs become too numerous, so as to be too 
near one another, and produce more fruit than tlie tree 
10 



218 rEUJ>fiNG. 

can sustain with safety, a portion of tliem mnst be pruned 
off. The lower parts always experience this difficulty 
first, the sap circulating more slowly there than in the 
summit. Fruit spurs of the pear and apple, if well 
managed, continue in a vigorous bearing state for a great 
many years. To renew and ]3rolong their vigor, the older 
parts must, from time to time, be cut away, and new pro- 
ductions created at their base to take their place. 

P Timing and management of the Ajpjple as a dwarf 
on tlie jparadise stoclc. 

^Nothing is more simple than the treatment of these 
little bushes. 

They should have short stems, six to eight inches from 
the ground, and the head should not be allowed to exceed 
three to three and a half feet in height, because the roots 
are very small, and do not take such a firm hold of the 
ground as to admit of a head that would offer much ob- 
stacle to the wind. The branches should be evenly dis- 
tributed around the head, open in the centre, in the form 
of a vase, and be furnished in all their parts witli bearing 
spurs. 

These are the points to aim at in commencing the 
formation of these trees. The proceedings are as follows: 

1st. Pruning. — We will su23pose that the subject is a 
yearling bud or graft, a single shoot eighteen to twenty 
inches in height. In this case, the stem is cut back to the 
point where it is intended to form the head, six to ten 
inches, as the case may be, from the stock. Below this, 
most of the buds will start and form shoots, from which 
we select three or four of the strongest and best situated, 
equally distant, if possible, around the stem, and rub or 
pinch off all the others. The growth of the branches 
thus selected for a head, is encouraged during the first 
season, by keej^ing down all other productions that may 
appear. 



THE APrLE AND THE TEAR. 



219 



2d. Pruning. — The tree has now three or four branches 
destined to be the basis of the frame- work of the 
head. These branches are cut back full one half 
their length, according as the buds in the variety are 
easily excited or not, the object being to induce all 
t]i(b buds below the cut to push. After growth has 
commenced, and an inch or two of new wood been made, 
the shoot from the bud cut to, will be chosen as a 
leader to continue the extension of the branch ; and if 
secondary branches be wanted, they will be chosen from 
those best situated, to fill up the existing vacancies. All 
the other shoots are pinched when two or three inches 
long, to convert them into fruit spurs, and to prevent 
their interfering with the growth of the w^ood branches. 
If one pinching is not sufficient, another must be given 
in the same way as recommended for pyramidal trees. 
Indeed, the whole process, as far as it goes, is the same ; 
but the same efforts are not 
necessary to maintain an equal 
distribution of the sap, for the 
tree is so low, and the form so 
natural, that no branch is more 
favorably situated than another ; 
and hence they are easily kept in 
an uniform state of vigor. The 
branches of irregular-growing 
sorts will require to be secured 
by stakes in their proper places 
for a year or two at first, until 
they have assumed a permanent 

. , Dwaf ai pie tree, four years 

position. old, stem ten inches high, head 

The third, and all subsequent c«n^P"«ed of four main branches 

' ^ and several secondary branches ; 

prUningS, will be conducted on pruned three times as at a. b, now 
the same principles as the first in a bearing state. 

and second, already described, until the tree has attained 




PKUXIXG. 

its full size. Fig. 109 represents a dwarf apple tree, foiu* 
years old. three times primed — the two last primings are 
indicated by the lettei*s a and h. 

^lanagement of tJie Bearing Tree. — Li most cases the 
apple on the paradise is disposed to excessive fridtfiilness, 
and unless the fiiiit branches be occasionally thinned and 
shortened, in order to rednce the number of bearing 
buds, and to produce new wood, the trees become enfee- 
bled. Bad management of this kind has promulgated 
the belief that the apple on the paradise is exceed- 
ingly short-lived ; but the fact that plantations exists in the 
most perfect vigor at the end of twelve to fifteen years 
after planting, shows that by proper treatment their exist- 
ence is not so fleeting. The spinas must be managed in a 
manner similar to that described in treating of pyramids, 
to renew them, and the slender fruit branches must be short- 
ened. This, in addition to the manimng to be hereafter 
described, constitutes the substance of their management. 

The P riming and Management of the Apple and Pear 
as espaliers. — In the cool, moist climate of England, this 
is a popular and advantageous method of training apples 
and peai*s. The specimens of this kind in public and 
private gardens there, are admirable in their way, and 
illusti-ate the skill and handiwork of the English gardener 
very favorably. But our climate is not suitable as a gen- 
eral thing for espaliers ; the branches are so exposed to 
the rays of our powei-ftil sun, that the sap is impeded in 
its circulation, and the fruits fall. It is, therefore, un- 
necessary to enter into any detail respecting this mode of 
training ; but there may be situations where such a sys- 
tem may succeed, and especially in the north. The best 
espalier form for the apple and pear, is that of the hon- 
zontal., that is, an upright centi-al stem, with horizontal 
amis or branches at equal distances on both sides (fig. 
110). The production of this tree depends in the main 



THE APPLE A2sT> THE PEAR. 221 

on the same princij^les as the pTramid, and does not re- 
quire illustration. The young tree is cut back to within 
six inches of the ground. From the shoots produced be- 



FiG. no. 

Pear tree trained horizontally. 

low that point, three are selected, the upper one to form 
the upright leader or stem, and two lateral or side 
ones to fomi the two first arms. The first season these 
shoots are allowed to grow upright and are kept in equal 
vigor. At the commencement of the second season, they 
are all cut back far enough, say one third to one half their 
length, or even more in some cases, to ensure the growth 
of all the buds. 

The upper shoot on each is selected for a leader, and 
the others are pinched at two inches or less. After the 
pruning, the arms ai'e brought down half way to a hori- 
zontal position, and towards the latter end of the season, 
wholly. An uniformity of gi'owth among all the parts is 
maintained according to the means and piinciples already 
laid down, and year after year the tree is thus treated 
until the requisite height and number of horizontal arms 
or branches be obtaiued. In the case of veiy rigorous 
growing sorts the leader may be stopped in June, and 
thus a second pair of arms be produced in one year. The 
upright leader and the branches are treated in a similar 
manner — a difierence in vigor always requiring a corres- 
p:>nding difference in treatment. For espaliers, the apple 
should be on the paradise or Doucain, and the pear on 



222 PEUNING. 

the quince^ because these stocks all diminish the vigor of 
wood growth, which is often the chief difficulty in man- 
aging trained trees. 

The aspect for these trees should never be due south. 
A railing to train such trees on, is made of upright posts 
sunk in the ground, and connected with cross bars, at 
eight to twelve inches apart, upon which the arms of the 
esjDalier are fastened with willow or bass matting. Mr. 
Rivers, in his " Miniature Fruit Garden," exhibits a sys- 
tem of growing pears in espalier, in the form of pyramids, 
as adopted by himself. I saw these trees when in Eng- 
land, in 1849, and although it appeared a very ingenious 
and economical arrangement, admitting a great number 
of varieties in a small space, and besides very well 
adapted to an English climate, yet it did not apj)ear to offer 
any advantages that would warrant its recommendation 
in this country, unless under rare circumstances in the 
most northern sections. Whoever will study attentively 
the means described for conducting a pyramid, can suc- 
ceed fully in training the es]3aliers or wall pyramid. 

Section 2. — Pruning and Training the Quince. 

As ordinarily grown, the quince is the most neglected, 
and consequently, the most unsightly, deformed tree to be 
found in the orchard or garden, and yet, when well treated, 
it is really, both when in blossom and in fruit, one of the 
most beautiful of all our fruit trees. Its fruit is more 
esteemed, and more generally used in this than in any 
other country. It is naturally a crooked or spreading 
bush, and without some attention to pruning and training 
when young, it assumes an irregular form, branching near 
the ground, and quite destitute of bearing wood on all its 
lower and interior parts. It is in this neglected form we 
most generally find it. To make a regular and handsome 



THE QUINCE. 



223 



little tree, we haye only, in the first place, to rear a 
straio^ht and stout trunk about two or three feet hliAi. 

If the plants be weak or crooked when planted, they 
should be cut low down to obtain a stout and straio-ht 
stem. The young shoot should be kej)t tied up to a stake 
to prev^ent it from straggling. 

The second year, if the growth has been vigorous, and 
low trees are desired, the head may be commenced. But 
if a stem three or four feet high be desired, it should be 
at least one inch in diameter, and another year's growth 
may be necessar3^ 

The head is formed in the same manner as described for 
standard and dwarf apples and pears. It should be 
round, symmetrical, and open, and well furnished on all 
parts with bearing wood. 

The bearing branches or spurs of the quince are small 
twiggy shoots {B^ fig- 
Ill), produced on wood 
at least two years old. 
These bear two, three, 
or more fruit buds. 
These produce shoots 
two or three inches 
long ((7, ^g. Ill), on 
the point of which the 
fruit is borne singly. 
These S23urs have al- 
ways wood buds as well 
as fruit buds, and there- 
fore they should be 
shortened back as to 
A^ fig. Ill, the spring 

after thev have horUP B, fruit branch of the quince. C, the shoot pra- 

ciiiei luej na\ e Dorne, ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^,^g ^^^j^ ^ud. ^, point at which it 

in order to produce new should be cut back after bearing. 

spurs at the same point. 




Fiff. 111. 



224 PRUNING. 

The French conduct it in beautiful pyi'amids, on pre- 
cisely the same principle as the pear and apple ; but the 
leading shoot must be kept fastened to an upright sup- 
port — ^a small rod attached to the base — on account of its 
reclining habit. The medlar is but little cultivated. Its 
treatment may be exactly similar to that described for the 
quince, its habits of growth and bearing being similar. 

Section 3. — Peuning the Cheery. 

The cherry is conducted in any desirable form with as 
much facility as any of all our hardy fruit trees. ' The 
Tieart and Mgarreau classes are very rapid grow ers, often 
attaininsc the hei2:ht of six feet the first season from the 
bud or graft, and in two years forming fine standard trees 
six to seven feet high, with a few top shoots. They have 
also large, drooping leaves, and, with few exceptions, stift*, 
erect, or slightly curved branches. 

The duke class does not grow so rapidly. The branches 
are stiff and erect, the leaves smaller as a general thing 
than the preceding classes, more erect, thicker, and of a 
deeper, darker green color. 

The morellos are of a bushy habit, with smaller leaves 
than any of the preceding classes, and the branches are 
more slender and closer together. The bark of all is very 
tough, being composed of several layers of jDOwerful 
fibres and tissue. It does not yield readily, like that of 
most other fruit trees, to the expansion or growth of the 
wood, and this occasions the bui^ting and exuding of gum 
in certain localities, especially in the more rapid growing 
classes. The mode of bearing has already been described 
under the head of fruit branches, in the beginning of the 
work. The fruit is produced on wood three years old 
thus : The shoot of last year's growth, which is furnished 
now with leaf buds in all its length, will produce at the 



THE CHERET. 225 

point, if not shortened, one or more sLoots, and all the 
buds remaining are, dm*ing the season, transformed into 
clusters of fruit bud^, and produce fruit the year follow- 
ing. In the centre of these clusters of fruit buds there is 
always a wood bud, and this grows a little and produces 
new clusters of fruit buds to replace those that have 
borne. Some of the morellos produce fruit on two-year- 
old wood, like the peach, the leaf buds being transformed 
into fruit buds. During the second growth of the first 
season of their formation, the fruit bud is very easily 
distinguished from the leaf bud by its roundness and 
plumpness. 

Pruning the Clierry as a Standard. — In Western ITew 
York the cherry succeeds so well, and is so totally exempt 
from the bursting of the bark, that trees can be grown 
safely with trunks ^lyq, or six feet high ; but in the West, 
when this malady prevails, the less there be of a naked 
trunk the better ; for it is the trunk and large branches 
that are generally so affected. As a standard, the cherry 
requires very little j)runing. 

To form a round ojpen head. — We will take for exam- 
ple a young tree two years old, having three or four top 
branches. These at the time of j)lanting should be cut 
back to within four or five buds of their base, and when 
growth has commenced, the requisite number of shoots, 
say four or five, to form the framework of the head are 
selected, evenly distributed on all sides, and all the others 
pinched or rubbed off. 

The following season these shoots may again be short- 
ened to produce secondary branches to fill up sj^aces, and 
those arising in the centre should be pinched out, for the 
head must be kept open and accessible to the sim and 
light. In about three years of such treatment, the head 
of the tree assumes a permanent form, and thereafter, may 
be left to itself, except to remove occasionally branches 
10^ 



226 PRUNING. 

that may cross or interfere with one another. Our stand- 
ard trees here are in the best possible condition, and have 
not had a knife on them, except to cut scions for budding 
or grafting, in seven years. 

Pyramidal Headed Standards. — Certain varieties, for 
instance, Sparhawlvs Honey .^ Dov^iier'^s^ China Bigarreau^ 
Black Tartarian^^ Black Heart.^ and some others, make 
fine pyramidal shaped heads without pruning, more than 
to give the leader its due superiority at the beginning, and 
to remove afterwards crossing and superfluous branches. 

Such varieties as the Yellow Spanish, Black Eagle, 
Knight's Ey. Black, Elton, and all the spreading sorts, 
should have round open heads built upon three or four 
main branches as described. 

Pruning the Cherry as a Pyramid. — ^The same process 
recommended for the pyramidal training of the pear and 
apple, may be applied with complete success to the cherry. 
"We have now in our specimen grounds a collection of all 
the classes trained, according to the method described, 
and their condition is in every respect satisfactory ; they 
have all given fruit the third year. 

In most cases the trees were taken from the nursery 
rows at the end of their first season's growth from the bud. 
Some had no side branches, and others had. It is very 
common for cherries and especially the Dukes and Morel- 
los to form a number of lateral branches the first season. 
Growth becomes slightly susj)ended, or at least goes on 
very slowly in July ; during this time the buds on the 
lower part acquire a sort of maturity, and when a new 
growth commences they push and form shoots. Cherry 
trees of this kind are in a good condition for pyramids. 
We select from these the strongest and best situated to 
form the lower tier of permanent branches ; the lower ones 
are shortened to four or five buds, and the upper ones to 
two or three. The leader or stem is cut back to within 



THE CHERRY. 227 

six, eight, or ten buds of the branches. Tliose having no 
branches are cut back to within six or eight buds of tlie 
stock. And this is the first pruning. 

Treatment during the first Swnimer after Pruning. — 
When the joung shoots have grown a couple of inches in 
length, such as are intended for permanent branches are 
chosen, and the others are pinched in the same manner as 
recommended for pears and apples. Such as acquire 
more vigor than is consistent with their position, must be 
checked. It fi-equently hapj)ens that unless the leader 
has been cut back close, only three or four shoots wdll be 
produced at the extremity, leaving a vacant space below. 
This can be remedied in most cases by pinching the shoots 
around the leader when they have grown about an inch. 
In some cases it may be necessary even to check the 
leader to force the lower buds into growth. This is a point 
of considerable importance in conducting a pyramid, and 
should never be lost sight of. 

The Cherry as an Espalier. — Except it be the training 
of the morello, or some other late varieties, on a north 
wall to prolong their season of maturity, the cherry is sel- 
dom grown as an espalier tree in this country, nor is it to 
be recommended except in some rare instances. The 
simplest and probably the best form is that suggested for 
pears and api3les, an upright stem with horizontal branches. 
To produce this the same means are employed as have 
been previously described. If the tree has no side 
branches proper for the first arms, it must be cut back to 
within six inches of the ground, and from the shoots pro- 
duced below that, one is selected for the leader, and one 
on each side for the first horizontal branches ; the other 
shoots are pinched off. At the next ^^I'^ming, the leader 
is again shortened toj^roduce another pair of sidebn-nches 
eight or ten inches from the first ; the leader is continued 
in an upright direction, and the side branches are brought 



228 PEUNLNG. 

half way down in midsummer, and at tlie following spring 
pruning they are placed in the horizontal position. The 
leading shoot of rapid growing sorts may be stopped about 
the end of June, and this will produce side shoots from 
w^hicli another pair of arms may be taken, and thus gain 
a year in the formation of the tree, or covering the wall 
or trellis. 

For weak growing sorts, the fan form or some modi- 
fication of it would, perhaps, be more suitable than the 
horizontal, as it offers less restraint to the circulation of 
the sap in the branches. 

The Cliey'vy as a Dwarf or Busli. — 'The slow growing 
sorts, such as the dii]i:es and 7noreUos^ when worked on the 
mahaleb stock, make very pretty and very easily man- 
aged prolific bushes, and by occasional root pruning they 
may be confined to as small a space as a dwarf apple 
tree. To produce this form, the young tree is cut back 
to within five or six buds of its base ; and from the shoots 
produced below that, four or five evenly distributed 
around the tree are selected for the permanent branches 
or frame-work of the tree. The others are rubbed oflf. 
At the next pruning the branches thus produced are 
shortened to produce secondary branches ; and thus it is 
treated from year to year until the tree is formed and full 
grown. 

The branches must be kept far enough apart to admit 
the sun and air freely amongst them. Wlien the tree is 
'^YQ or six years old, if it grows too vigorously, requiring 
more space than can be given it, the larger roots may be 
shortened in July or August, or in the winter. This and 
the pyramid, and the dwarf standard, with stems two feet 
high, are the most eligible garden forms for tlie cherry.^ 

* Mr. Rivers states in his " Miniature Fruit Garden," that he has a 
plant of the late duke cherry ten years old, that never was root-pruned, and 
yet is a small prolific tree, five feet in height, and the branches the same in 



THE PEACH. 229 

The dwarf standard is treated precisely as tlie dwari, 
and differs from it only in having two feet instead of six 
or eight inches of stem. In pruning and training the 
cherry, it should always be borne in mind that when 
large branches are removed, it is liable to suffer from the 
gum, and, therefore, the regulation of the shoots should 
be carefully attended to* in summer, that amputations of 
woody parts may be avoided as far as possible. When it 
is necessary, however, the cut surface heals more rapidly 
and surely when made in the summer, during the growing 
season. 

Section 4. — Pruning and Management of the Peach. 

The peach is universally regarded as the most delicious 
fruit of our climate, and ranks in importance for orchard 
culture next to the apple and the pear. E'owhere in the 
world is it produced in such quantities, and with so little 
labor, as in America. An English or French gardener 
will expend more labor on a single tree, than the majority 
of our orchardists do upon one hundred. Our favorable 
climate obviates a multitude of difficulties that have to 
be contended with in other countries, and renders unneces- 
sary the minute and laborious systems of management 
Avliich they find it absolutely necessary to pursue. 

But this very excellence of our climate has given rise 
to a most negligent and defective system of cultivation, 
as is everywhere illustrated in the condition of orchards. 
The j)each, of all other trees, is one that, from its mode 
of growth and bearing, requires constant pruning to 
maintain it in a shapely, thrifty, and productive state. 
The sap tends powerfully to the extremities of the shoots, 

diameter. We have in our specimen grounds trees of several dukes and 
moreilos, six years old, on mahaleb stocks, not over four or five feet high, 
and pictures of fruitfulness. 



230 PRUNING. 

more so than in any other fruit tree. The buds that do 
not push and form shoots the first season after their for- 
mation, are lost ; they cannot, as in most other trees, be 
excited into growth ; and hence it is that the lower parts 
become so rapidly denuded of young wood, and that 
trees left to themselves for six or seven years are in a 
measure worn out and worthless." 

The fruit is borne only on wood of the preceding year 
(see fruit branches), and every part destitute of such 
wood must be w^orthless ; consequently one of the great 
objects of pruning is to keep all parts of the tree fur- 
nished with a regular and constant succession of annual 
bearing shoots. 

This fact must never be lost sight of 

The case of a sino-le shoot will illustrate the influence 
of pruning and its necessity. By referring to the fruit 
branch, it w^ill be seen that it is furnished with a certain 
number of jtv^ood buds and fruit buds. At the base there 
are always one or two wood buds at least. 

]^ow, if that shoot were not pruned, all the fruit buds 
on it would probably produce fruit— one, two, or three 
of the wood buds at the top would make new shoots ; 
these would necessarily be very weak in consequence of 
the number of fruit below them. At the end of the 
season there would be a long, vacant space, entirely des- 
titute of a young shoot or a living bud. This is the way 
that the interior and lower parts of trees become so soon 
degarnished. 

But when that shoot is shortened, we will say one half, 
the sap is retained in its lower parts, one half of the 
fruit buds are removed, and the consequence is that large 
and fine fruits are obtained from those remaining ; young 
vigorous shoots are produced from the lower buds to bear 
next year, and take the place of those which have 
already borne. In this way regular uniform crops of 



THE PEACH. 



231 




larsfe and fine fruit are obtained, and a constant succession 
of joung shoots is kept up. 

To form the head of a standard Peach Tree. — We 
will suppose it the intention to form a standard tree, with 
a trunk two feet in height, and a round, oj^en, and sym- 
metrical head like fig. 112. We take a yearling tree and 
cut it back to within two feet and a half of the ground in 
the spring. Below^ this cut a certain number of shoots 
will be produced, from which 
three will be selected to form the 
main branches or frame-work of 
the head. All the others are rub- 
bed off when two or three inches 
Ions: or sooner. At the end of the 
season w^e have a tree with three 
branches. 

The second year these three 
branches are cut back full one 
half their length, and from each 
we take a shoot to continue the branch, and one to form 
a secondary branch. The other shoots produced below 
these are pinched or checked to prevent them from inter- 
fering with the growth of the leading branches. In the 
fall of the year we have a tree with six leading branches, 
and some bearing shoots below on the older wood. 

The third year each of these six branches is short 
ened one half, in order to obtain more secondary branches, 
and some fruit branches on the lower parts. All young 
shoots on the old wood, whether fruit branches or not, 
Bhould be cut back one half, or as far as may be necessary, 
to cause the wood buds at their base to push, and make 
shoots to bear next year. 

The formation of the head goes on as described for two 
or three years more, when it is complete ; for peach trees, 



Fig 112. 

Form of a low standard peacn 
tree, with a stem two feet high 
and a round, open head. 



232 PEUNING. 

properly pruned, do not assume such wide-spreading 
forms as thej do naturally. 

The main branches and secondary branches should be 
at equal distances throughout, and far enough apart to 
give the bearing wood on their sides the full benefit of 
the sun and air. 

An equality of vigor should also be preserved amongst 
them by summer pinching. It is not uncommon to see a 
very vigorous shoot start up in a peach tree, and appro- 
priate so much of the sap as to injure a whole branch ; 
these should be checked the moment their character is 
observed, unless they may be wanted to fill a vacancy. 
Every part of the branches should be furnished with 
bearing shoots, and these should, every spring, be short- 
ened in one half or more, to produce others at their base, 
whilst those that have borne are cut out. 

Some people imagine that when they have taken a pair 
of hedge shears, or some such instrument, and shorn oif 
the ends of the shoots on the outside of the tree indis- 
criminately, they are " shortening in," and so they are, 
as they would a hedge ! Some of the shoots are cut 
away entirely, fruit buds and all, whilst others remain 
untouched, and the tree becomes like a brush on the out- 
side and naked within. This is almost as bad as the let- 
alone system. Every shoot should be cut separately. 
The most expeditious instrument for doing this, is a pair 
of light hand-pruning shears, such as the French secateur 
(see instruments). A person accustomed to its use can 
prune every shoot on a full-grown tree in an almost in- 
credibly short space of time, as compared with that re- 
quired with the knife. Extensive orchardists may be 
deterred from such a labor, looking to the cost ; but if 
they will engage quick, active, intelligent persons to do 
the work, and estimate the increased value of the fruit, 



THE PEACH. 233 

and longevity and beauty of tlieir trees, there can be no 
doubt but it will be found ix paying investment. 

Hoot Pruning. — In gardens where the soil is rich, and 
trees very full of vigor, disposed to grow too much and 
bear too little, root jDruning should be practised once in 
two or three years — the first lightly, removing only the 
ends of the large feeding roots. The safest time to do it 
is between the fall of the leaf and the opening of spring. 
Vegetation in the peach seldom becomes sufiiciently 
inactive during the growing season, to enable the roots to 
be pruned with safety. 

The Peach in the form of a vase. — Among all the 
forms in which trees are conducted, this is, when well 
done, one of the most graceful. 

It consists of a short stem two to five feet, according to 
fimcy, with a head composed of three or four main 
branches, and two or three times that number of second- 
ary branches, all trained by means of light stakes at first, 
and afterwards wire or w^ooden hoops in the form of a 
vase or goblet. The branches are arranged in a circle, 
with bearing shoots filling up the spaces. No shoots are 
permitted either in the interior or in front that is project- 
ing from the exterior surfiice of the goblet. 

The most beautiful trees of this form are to be seen in 
the gardens of the Luxembourg, at Paris, and elsewhere 
in France. 

Mr. Louis Gaudry, who has a very pretty little plan- 
tation in Paris, and who has published a small work on 
pruning and training trees, gives the annexed cut as a 
representation of one of his vase peach trees of eight 
years' growth (fig. 113). The following is the substance 
of his mode of conducting them. 

First Priming. — ^The stem of the yearling tree is cut 
back to the point at which it is desired to commence the 
head to three buds, forming a triangle and as nearly as 



234 



PEUNING. 



possible of the same height. Three shoots are obtained 
from these three buds to form the first or main branches 




Peach tree in the form of a vase, with four main branches, each havin» several 
secondary branches. The stem in the figure is five feet, but shouid no', exceed two. 



THE PEACH. 235 

or frame-work of the vase. To favor the growth of these, 
all the shoots produced below them are nibbed off. 

In order to give them the proper inclination, three 
small stakes are inserted in the ground, to which the 
three branches are fastened; it is supposed that if these 
etakes be sunk as far from the base of the tree as the roots 
extend, and in an upright 2:)osition, there will be a 
sufficient opening or space in the centre. The branches 
should be thus broui>:ht out about AuOTst, so that the for- 
mation of new layers of wood subsequent to that time 
may fix them in their places. The side shoots, wdiich are 
produced on the young branches, towards the latter part 
of the season, designated by the French lourgeans anticijjes^ 
are pinched to one or two leaves. 

2d. Pruning. — ^The spring following, the branches are 
loosed from the stakes, and shortened to six or eight 
inches of their base, to a leaf bud on the outside or front 
of the branch, and with a bud below it, either on the right 
or left side. The front bud continues the main branch, 
and the side bud forms a secondary branch. The three 
branches are pruned in this way, taking care that the 
secondary branch on each is on the same side, so that two 
of them cannot come in contact. To favor the growth of 
these new shoots, all those situated below them that acquire 
too much vigor, must be pinched at three or four leaves. 

A wooden hoop may now be placed in the centre, to 
which the branches are attached to keej) them, in their 
places. In this way the tree progresses ; every year one or 
more secondary branches are ^^roduced, the main branches 
increase in length, and fruit shoots are produced on all 
the intervals of the branches, on their two sides. 

All shoots that j^ush either inside or in front of the vase 
ave pinched ofi*, and pinching is practised at all times to 
maintain equal growth between the different parts, and to 
check any too great tendency of the sap to the extremities. 



236 PEUNING. 

Third jpTuning . — ^The fruit branches are pruned to three 
or four buds, to induce the lower wood buds to push and 
form new wood for the next season. 

The main branches are cut back to ten or twelve inches 
above the previous pruning, to a bud on the front to con- 
tinue the branch ; the buds selected to produce another 
series of secondary branches, must all be on the side oppo- 
site the previous ones. If the position of the buds renders 
this impossible, then they may all be chosen on the same 
side as the first. 

The hoops this year will require to be larger in dia- 
meter than the preceding, in order to give increased width 
to the vase as it proceeds upwards. All the other opera- 
tions are conducted in the same manner. The hoops in- 
side are placed within six to eight inches of one another, 
and the circular branches within twelve to fifteen inches. 
As the tree advances in age, the growth may become too 
vigorous at the top ; and in this case, the main branches, 
always the most vigorous, must be pruned short, and even 
pinched during summer, to turn the sap to the benefit of 
the weaker parts. 

These are the main points in the management of these 
vases. It may be added, that the a^^ple, pear, cherry, 
and indeed all other trees may be grown in this form, and 
by the same means, varying it only to suit different modes 
of growth and bearing, and degrees of vigor. 

The Peach as an Espalier. — Espalier training will never 
be practised in this country to any very great extent, and 
therefore it may be considered, in comparison with open 
ground systems, unimportant. Yet there are some dis- 
tricts not so favorably situated as to be able to produce 
peaches, apricots, and nectarines, in the open ground. 
For these a proper system of espalier training is impor- 
tant, because in this form trees are easily protected from 



THE PEACH. 



237 



winter or spring frosts, and they ripen their fruits per- 
fectly, where open ground or standard trees would not. 

The Peacli as an Esjpalier trained on a wall or trellis. — 
There are a multitude of forms for espalier trees where 
training on walls or trellises is necessarily and extensively 
practised, as in England and France. The great requi- 
sites in a wall tree are^Jirst, to have all the wall covered; 
and, second, to have the different parts of the tree alike 
favorably placed, with reference to its growth. 'Next to 
these are simplicity and naturalness. 

The most poj^ular form in England is that called the 




Fig. 114. 
Fan-shaped Espalier. 

fan (fig. 114). In it the branches are spread out so as to 
resemble a fan ; the lower ones are nearly or quite hori- 
zontal ; the next more oblique ; and so they proceed 
until the centre ones are quite upright, and this ajjpears 
to be the defect of this form ; for the horizontal branches 
cannot maintain such a vigor as those more erect above 
them. The square espalier, invented by M. Felix Malo, 
of France, and now extensively practised by some of the 
best peach growers of the celebrated town of Montreuil, 
seems to possess more advantages, all in all, than any 
other. The " Bon Jardinier^^ from which the following 
description of the method of conducting these trees is 



ed, the branches are ex- \ j, 
amined to see if they be \ / 



238 PRUNING. 

taken, says : " This generally approved form begins to 
find imitators, and it is j)robable that one day it will be 
adopted by all intelligent gardeners." 

First year. — We will begin wdth a peach tree one year 
from the bud, and cnt it down to within six or eight 
inches, or three or four buds of the stock. From the buds 
produced below the cut, two of the strongest are chosen, 
one on each side, to form the two main branches — hxmches 
mere; all the other shoots are destroyed, and these two 
are allowed to grow upright, and in the fall they will be 
three to four feet high. 

Second year (fig. 115). — In the spring, when hard frosts 
are no longer apprehend- ^ / 

sound and healthy, free 
from bruises, insects, etc., 
and they are cut back to 
twelve or fifteen inches of their base, according to then- 
strength ; a weak branch ought always to be cut back in 
such a case as this further than a strong one. 

The bud cut to, should, if possible, be on the inside.^ 
and the next bud below it on the outside; the first to 
continue the main branch, and the other to form the firsi 
exterior secondary branch. All shoots starting on the 
front or rear of the main branch should be rubbed ofi", 
and those on the sides laid in early to prevent their 
acquiring too much vigor. The main branches are left 
till July, when they are brought down to the form of a Y, 
and attached to the wall or trellis in this position. The 
exterior secondary branch is placed more oblique, and the 
fruit branches are kept in a uniform and moderate growth 
by pinching and laying in. The most vigorous should 
always be laid in first to check them, and favor the others. 

Third year (fig. 116). — -After loosening the tree from 





TIIE PEACH. 239 

t]i8 trellis, the two main branches are cut back to 
sixteen or eighteen inches of the previous pruning, and 
the two lower or secondary branches to twelve or sixteen 
inches. 

The fruit branches are shortened to within two or three 
buds of their base, and all are again fastened back in their 
places. When the young shoots have reached the length 
of three, four, or five inches, such as are badly placed 
on the front or rear of the branches, or in any place inju- 
rious to the symmetry of the tree, are removed. During 
the summer the different branches must be laid in from 
time to time, the most vigorous first. This year two more 
secondary branches must be obtained on each side, in the 
same manner as in the previous year. Their growth is 
also promoted by the same means. 

The fruit branches on the sides of the main branches 
may give a few fruit this year, and those on the second- 
ary branches may bear next year. 

The fruit branches that have borne are to be cut away 
each year and replaced by others, therefore we must com- 
mence to provide for these branches of replacement. 
They are produced as follows : 

First, it may be observed that fruit branches have gen- 
erally one or more wood buds at their base. Sometimes 
these will push and form branches of replacement with- 
out any assistance, more than cutting back. In such a 
case there is no difficulty. When the fruit is ripe, or at 
the next pruning, the fruit branch that has borne is cut 
away, and the new one takes its place. But nature does 
not always act thus. It is generally necessary to force 
the development of these branches of replacement, without 
which the branches in all their lower parts would become 
entirely denuded. 

Hence, then, when a branch of replacement fails to 
appear by the ordinary method of shortening, we have 



240 PKUNmG. 

two modes of forcing it : one is to make, after the fruit is 
set, an incision through the bark two inches above one of 
the wood buds, and pinch close all the shoots on the fruit 
branch, leaving only rosettes of leaves necessary to the 
perfection of the fruit; pinching must be repeated all 
thetime that the shoots on the fruit branch continue to 
grow. 

Fourth Year (iig. 117). — After having examined if the 
tree is equally vigorous in all its parts, and having de- 
cided upon the means of restoring the balance if it has 
been lost, the tree is detached from the wall or trellis, and 
pruned, commencing with the fruit branches that have 
borne. These, it must be remembered, are to be cut back 
each year to the new branch of replacement j^roduced at 
its base. The young shoot then becomes the fruit branch, 
and is 23runed within four to fourteen inches, according to 
their vi^or and the situation of the fruit buds. 

The two main branches are cut back to within about 
twenty inches of the previous pruning ; the first shoot on 

the inside is 
chosen to conti- 
nue the branchy 
and the next 
one below \ii 
Fig. 117 Fig. 118. on the lov/er 

Fourth year. Fifth year. ^^^ ^^^^^^ g-^g^ 

to produce the third exterior secondary branch. The two 
secondary branches already formed are cut back to about 
twelve to fifteen inches of the previous pruning, in order 
to make all the lateral buds on them push. The terminal 
bud produces a leader to continue them ; all the others are 
fruit branches. 

In attaching the tree again to the wall, the angle that 
exists between the two main branches is gradually 
widened, the In-anches a litf e more spread at every pruning. 





THE PEACH. 



241 



Fiftli year (fig. 118). — The tree is now composed of 
two main branches, both of which have three secondary 
bmnches on their exterior lower sides, and fruit branches 
on all their length on the interior and upper side ; and all 
that is wanted to complete it, is to transform three of the 
bearing shoots on the upper sides into three secondary 
branches, corresponding and alternating with the three 
lower ones. To do this, w^e select the fruit branch on 
each, nearest the fork or base of the main branches. The 
growth of this is favored by training it in an upright posi- 
tion, and by pinching any vigorous shoots near it. The 
tree is managed thus, as in preceding years, in regard to 
laying in the shoots according to their vigor, and pinching 
to maintain regularity, &c. 

Tlie sixth year (fig. 119). — ^The pruning is conducted 
on the same principles precisely, and another interior 
secondary branch is produced in the same way as last 
year. 

The seventh year (fig. 120). — Another is produced on 













Fig. 119. 
Sixth year. 



Fig. 120. 
Seventh year. 



each, and then the tree 
with its two main 
branches, and twelve 
secondary branches, all 
trained in the form of 
a parallelogram is com- 
plete (fig. 121), 
11 




Fig. 121. 
Eighth year. 



242 



PEUNING. 



Fig. 122 represents the tree complete, bearing shoots 

and all. 

The main 

branches should 
be permanently 
^ fixed at an an- 
igle of 45^. The 
« lowest exte- 
s rior secondary 
S branches at 15^. 
I Some cultiva- 
I tors recommend 
I'that the inte- 
Z rior secondary 
I branches con- 
'l verge to the cen- 
■^ tre at an angle 
• lof 45^. This 
^ S gives them an 
^ i oblique direc- 
^ tion, and places 
« them upon a 
i more equal foot- 
^ ing with the 
I other 23 arts. 
I In training 
I such trees, an 
£ imamnary cn'- 
I cular line is 
produced on the 
wall or trellis, 
and this is di- 
vided off into 
parts, corresponding to the degrees of a circle, commenc- 
ing at the centre above, and numbering both ways to the 




THE PEACH. 243 

base : this enables the persons who conduct the tree, to lay 
in the branches on both sides at an equal angle with pre- 
cision, which is quite requisite to maintain uniformitj of 
growth and vigor. 

It has been considered necessary to treat this subject 
somewhat minutely, for the purpose of giving to persons 
wholly unacquainted with training, some knowledge of the 
princij^les on which it depends, and the mode of its 
execution. 

The form described above is one of the simplest of all 
espaliers, except the horizontal, described in treating of 
the apple and the pear ; but whoever can train a tree in 
this manner well, can do it in all others, for the principles 
of growth are the same always ; and he w^ho understands 
these, can mould his trees at pleasure, provided he can 
bestow the necessary labor. The peach may be grown in 
any or all the espalier forms. 

Laying in^ and fastening the trees to ivalls and trel- 
lises. — ^When trees are trained to a wall or fence, the 
branches are fastened in the desired j^osition by means of 
shreds of cloth or list, half an inch wide, and from two to 
three inches long, according to the size of the branch to 
be laid in. Yery small nails are necessary to train on 
boards, but larger ones on a brick and stone wall. On a 
trellis, strings of bass matting are used instead of nails and 
cloth ; and in fastening to simple rails, small willows may 
be used. The principle to be observed, in laying in and 
fastening the branches and shoots of espalier trees, is that 
strong shoots must he laid in sooner than weaJc ones^ and 
also more inclined from the vertical direction. A great 
deal may be done towards maintaining uniformity of 
growth in the different parts of a trained tree, by laying in 
the branches in a judicious and discriminating manner. 



244 PRUNING. 



Section 5. — Pruning and Management of the Plum. 

The plum bears its fruit on spurs produced on wood 
two years old and upwards, like the cherry (see fruit 
branches). On young trees these spurs are several years 
in the process of formation ; but when they commence to 
bear they endure, if well managed, for many years. 
They are generally furnished with wood buds on their 
lower parts ; and when they begin to grow feeble, they 
ought to be renewed by cutting back. The plum is almost 
universally grown as a standard, and the head may be 
conducted in the same manner as described for the cheny. 
The branches should be mainly regulated by summer 
pinching, to obviate the necessity of knife pnming, that 
frequently gives rise to the gum. Some varieties of very 
rapid growth produce shoots three or four feet long in one 
season ; and if not shortened back at the spring pruning, 
the tree presents long naked branches in a short time. 

The chief difficulty in the way of conducting it as a 
pyramid, is its great vigor ; but this can in a great mea- 
sure be overcome by the use of dwarfing stocks^ hj pinch- 
ing and by root jp^mning . 

The latter will be found a most efficient mode of kee]3ing 
the trees small and fruitful. We have had no experience 
with the plum as a pyi-amid ; but Mr. Eivers says, that by 
root pruning annually in October and i^ovember, he has 
succeeded in making handsome pyramidal trees. Stand- 
ards and dwarf standards may also be root pruned to 
advantage in small gardens, and where it is desirable to 
get them into early bearing. 

The plum may be trained in any of the espalier forms 
already described, and in the same manner. 



THE APEICOT. 245 



Section 6. — Peuning and Management of the Apeicot. 

The apricot, like the peach, has fruit and wood buds 
mixed on the shoots of one year's growth. It has also 
little fruit branches or spurs like the plum, which are 
capable of being renewed by shortening. 

The mode of pruning must therefore have in view the 
production of young wood, and maintaining the spurs in 
a vigorous and fruitful state. When neglected, it be- 
comes, like the peach, denuded of young bearing wood in 
the interior, and enfeebled by over-fruitfulness. The 
shoots should therefore be shortened every season accord- 
ing to their length, as recommended for the peach, to 
reduce the number of blossom buds, and favor the pro- 
duction of new bearing wood. 

It is very liable to the gum, and severe pruning with 
the knife should be obviated as far as possible by pinch- 
ing. It may be conducted as a standard, pyramid, dwarf, 
or espalier, on the same principle as other trees. When 
trees become enfeebled by neglect or age, they can be 
renewed by heading down close to the stem. New and 
vigorous shoots are immediately produced that form a new 
tree. This heading dowTi should be done very early in 
the spring, and the wounds be carefully covered with 
grafting wax. 

It is one of the first of our fruit trees to blossom in the 
spring, and therefore in some localities the flowers are 
killed by the frost. Where this is apprehended, it may 
be well to plant on the north side of a wall, or something 
that will rather retard the period of blooming, and subject 
it less to freezing and thawing. We have apricots trained 
here on a south aspect, yet in seven years the blossoms 
have not been killed, though in one or two instances they 



246 PRUNING. 

have been slightly injured. The espalier trees offer great 
facility for protection ; and therefore, where spring frosts 
prevail, the apricot should be so 'trained. Mats or straw 
hurdles can be jDlaced against them, both in spring and 
winter if necessary, with the same ease that a common 
frame is covered. 

Section 7. — Pruning the I!Tectakine. 

The nectarine is but a smooth skinned peach. The 
trees are so similar in their mode of growth, buds, etc., 
that they cannot be distinguished from one another, and, 
therefore, whatever has been said resj^ecting the pruning 
and treatment of one, apj^lies with equal force to the 
other. This fruit is so infested with the curculio, that it 
is almost impossible to obtain a crop that will pay for 
culture in any part of the country in the open ground. Un- 
less some more effective remedy be discovered than any 
yet known, it will soon have to retire from the garden, 
and take up its residence with the foreign grape in glass 
houses. 

It produces excellent crops trained in espaliers, on a 
back wall, or a centre trellis of one of those cold grajDeries 
now becoming so popular. 

Section 8. — Culture, Pruning, and Training Hardy 
Grape Yines. 

The management of our native grapes is exceedingly 
simple. Immense crops of Catawba and Isabella, and 
especially the latter, are raised throughout the country 
in the entire absence of any systematic mode of training 
or pruning. A single vine in a neighbor's garden, carried 
to the flat roof of an outbuilding, and allowed to ram- 
ble there at pleasure, without any care but a v(3ry imper- 



THE GKAPE VINE. 24:7 

feet pruning every spring, produces annually many 
bushels of fruit. But the quality is, of course, greatly 
inferior to that produced on well-pruned, trained, and 
dressed vines. A grape vine neatly trained on a trellis, 
with its luxuriant ample foliage, and rich pendulous 
clusters of fruit, is really one of the most interesting 
objects in a fruit garden, and, at the same time, one of 
the most profitable ; for the shade and ornament alone 
that it produces, are a sufficient recompense for its culture. 

In planting a grape vine the first point is to prepare a 
border for the roots. 

This must, in the first place, be perfectly dry. If the 
soil or situation be wet or damp, it must be drained 
thoroughly, so that no stagnant moisture can exist in it. 
In the next place it must be deep — three feet is a good 
depth ; and it must not be less than two where abundant 
and fine crops are expected. The mode of preparation 
is, to dig out the natural soil to the required depth, and 
the length and width necessary. For a single vine, the 
border should be eight or ten feet long and fom' wide. 

When the excavation is made, if the soil be stift' or 
damp, a few inches, or a foot deep, of small stones, brick, 
rubbish, etc., may be laid on the bottom as a sort of 
drainage. On the top of this deposit the compost for the 
border. This may consist of two parts of good, fresh, 
friable loam, one of old, well-rotted manure, and one of 
ashes, shells, broken bones, etc., all completely mixed 
with one another. The top of the border, when finished, 
should be at least a foot higher than the surface of the 
ground, so that it may still remain higher after settling. 
Having the border thus prepared, the next point is the 
trellis. The form of this will depend on the situation it 
is to occupy, and the mode of training to be adopted. 
Fig. 123 represents one intended for a wall. The prin- 



24:8 



PEUNING. 



cipal bars or frame-work are incli and a half boards, three 
inches wide, nailed together at the angles. 



, ♦ e. » • ■ >— *— ■» 

k —.— I « » ' ■ i ti ■• 



Fig. 123. 
Trellis for a grape vine. 

It is intended for one vine, and may be the height of 
the wall that it is intended to occupy. The vertical or 
upright bars are three feet apart and the cross ones six 
feet ; between them are rods of stout wire. The first or 
lowest cross bar may be two feet from the ground. It is 
fastened to the wall by iron hooks or brackets. The best 
and simplest mode of training a vine on such a trellis as 
this, is to j^roduce two main branches or arms to be 
trained in a horizontal manner on the first cross bar. 
From these two arms, ]3ermanent, upright canes are 
trained, one to each of the upright bars of the trellis. 
These upright canes produce on their sides a succession 
of bearing shoots from year to year, being pruned after 
what is called the " spur" system. 

Planting the Vine. — As in planting any other tree, the 
roots should be carefully spread out, and the fine earth 



THE GEAPE YINE. 249 

worked well in amongst tliem. Its position should be 
exactly in the centre of the trellis it is to be trained on. 

Pruning. — It must first be observed that the grape 
vine bears its fruit on shoots of the current year, pro- 
duced from eyes on the previous year's wood. Fig. 124 
rej^resent the old wood, with its bearing shoot. It is im- 




FiG. 124. 
Fruit branch of the grape. The cross line towards the points shows where 
it ought to be stopped. 

portant to understand this, because it shows the necessity 
of keeping uj) a supj)ly of young wood wherever we 
desire fruit to be produced. 

To illustrate the pruning, we will suppose the plant to 
be one or two years old, as ordinarily sent out from the 
nursery. It may have only one shoot, or it may have 
several. However this may be, all are pruned off but 
the strongest, and it is cut back to within two eyes of its 
base. These two eyes wdll produce shoots, and when 
they have made a growth of two or three inches, the 
weaker one is rubbed off and the strong one trained up. 
It is allowed to grow on till September, when the bud is 
pinched to mature and strengthen it. Any side shoots 
that appear during the summer, should be ]3inched off, as 
well as any suckers that may appear about the roots. 

Second Year. — If the shoot of last year made a strong 

growth of ten or twelve feet, it may be now cut back to 

three eyes, and two canes be trained up ; but if it made 

only a weak growth, it should again be cut back to two 

11^ 



250 PETJNING. 

ejefo, and one slioot only trained up. Side shoot^ and 
suckers are pinched off during the summer ; and in Sep- 
tember these canes are stopped as before, and no fruit is 
allowed. 

Third Year. — We have now two strong canes with 
which w^e connnence the frame-work of the Vvof £ach 
of these is cut back at the winter pruning to ^'ithin two 
or three feet of its base, and laid in, as in fig. 125, and 
fastened to the lower horizontal bar of the trellis. The 




Fig. 125. 
Grape vine at the beginning of the second year. The arms shortened at c, 
a, 6, etc., are buds. 

bud on the end of each at <?, wdll produce a shoot to con- 
tinue the prolongment in a horizontal direction, and a 
bud {a) on the upper side of each will produce a shoot to 
be trained to one of the upright bars — the first one on its 
division, or half of its trellis ; all others are rubbed off, or 
the buds cut out. Thus each of these arms produces two 
shoots — an upright and a horizontal one. During the 
summer, these shoots are carefully tied in as required, 
and side shoots and suckers pinched off when they ap- 
pear. They are also topped in September, as before. 

Fourth year. — Each of last year's shoots is cut back 
to within three feet of its base. It may be necessary 
to cut the horizontal ones closer than the upright ones, to 
obtain another strong upright shoot. The two upright 
canes already established, will produce a shoot from their 
tops, to continue their extension upwards, and the hori- 
zontal ones, as before, produce a shoot at the point to be 
carried outwards, and one on the top to be trained up to 
one of the upright bars. This year, several fruit shoots 



THE GKAPE VINE. 



251 



will be produced, on eiicli of which, one or two bunches 
of grapes may be ripened. In this way the vine goes on 
adding every season two new upriglit canes, and two or 
three feet in length to the previous ones, until the whole 
trellis is covered ; when the management will consist in 
]3runing the spurs every winter to about three eyes. Each 
fruit branch should only be allowed to produce two 
bunches of fruit, and the toj) should be pinched at the 
second eye, or joint above the fruit (see cross line, fig. 
124), in order to arrest the production of useless wood, 
and turn the sap to the benefit of the fruit. Fig. 126 
represents the appearance of a vine trained in this way. 

By such a system 
as this the trellis is 
covered in every 
part with bearing 
wood, the fruit and 
the foliage are all 
exposed fully to the 
sun, an uniformity of 
vigor is maintained 
between the differ- 
ent parts, and the 
appearance is beau- 
tiful. A trellis may be covered with a vine by other 
modes requiring less labor perhaps, and less time, but none 
will be found more beneficial or satisfactory in the end. 

In the management of a grape vine, as in the manage- 
ment of other trees, summer pruning is of great conse- 
quence. If a vine is left to itself all summer, or from one 
winter pruning to another, it will be found that a vast 
quantity of useless wood has been produced, and that to 
the serious detriment of the bearing shoots for the follow- 
ing year. Every two weeks the growing vine should be 




Fig. 126. 
Trained, with horizontal arms. A^ B, supporting 
vertical permanent canes, spur pruned. 



'152 PRUNING. 

%dsited, shoots tied in, strong ones checked, STiperfinous 
ones rubbed off, and every part kept in its proper jjlace, 
and in a proper degree of vigor. In certain cases, where 
the mode of training above described cannot be conveni- 
ently adopted, two or three poles, twelve to fifteen feet 
high, may be sunk in the ground, with a space of three or 
four feet between them at the bottom, and fastened toge- 
ther at the top, forming a cone, around which the perma- 
nent canes may be trained in a spiral manner. 

This produces a very beautiful effect, and occupies com- 
■^^aratively little space, but the grapes will not all ripen so 
w^ell, nor will the training be so easy as on the flat surface 
of a trellis. 

Yery tasteful arbors may also be made over some of the 
walks, by training the vine over the woodwork, in the 
same manner as on a trellis. 

This is a very common practice and offers many advan- 
tages. Ingenious persons who care well for their garden, 
as well in its appearance as its productions, will conceive 
other plans still better adapted to their particular wants 
and taste than any of these; but the main point must 
always be kept in view, that is, to provide for the foliage 
and the fruit, a free open exposure to the sun. Any sys- 
tem that does not secure this, will fiiil to a greater or less 
extent. 

The Isabella grape succeeds well even as far north as 
Maine, by laying it down in winter and covering it with 
mats, straw, boughs of evergreens, &c. 

Yineyard culture. — Vineyards are located on dry sunny 
hill sides; the land is deeply trenched with the spade or 
subsoil plough (generally the former, as it is more tho- 
rough), and liberally manured. The vines are planted in 
rows, six to eight feet apart, and four to six feet apart in 
the rows, and are trained to oak or cedar 2306ts, six to eight 
feet high. The young vines are cut back close for the 



THE GEAPE VINE. 258 

first year or two, until they hare become well rooted and 
strong, and only one shoot is allowed to grow. About 
the third year, one shoot, six feet long or so, is left to 
fruit, and a new shoot is carried up that season to bear 
the next. At the following pruning the cane that bore is 
cut away, and thus a continual succession is kept up. 
During the summer suckers and superfluous shoots are 
kept down, and the ground is kept in good clean condition 
with a horse cultivator principally. As the vines grow 
old, two and sometimes three bearing canes are taken 
from each stool. 

The vineyards of Cincinnati cover several hundred acres, 
and from the Catawba grape they make a " sparkling 
champagne," as good as the French. This is destined to 
be an important branch of culture. 

Culture of foreign Grapes in cold vi7ie7^es. — ^Repeated 
experiments made during many years in all parts of the 
country, have convinced people generally that the deli- 
cious varieties of the foreign grape cannot be produced 
with any considerable degree of success in the open air. 
A large number of the hardiest French and German sorts 
have been tested in our ground, but not one of them has 
borne satisfactorily. A few good bunches have been 
obtained the first season or two under very favorable 
circumstances ; but after that the failure is complete. 
This has rendered glass, heat, and shelter necessary. 

The huilding. — ^These are constructed of all sizes and 
at various degrees of expense, from $50 to $500. Some 
have single lean-to roofs ; others have double or span 
roofs. The walls of some are built of brick or stone; 
others are of w^ood, wholly. The cheapest and simplest 
structure of this kind is the lean-to. The back may be 
nine or ten feet high, composed of strong cedar posts six 
feet apart, and boarded up on both sides. The ends are 
made in the same manner. The front may be two feet 



254 PEUNING. 

high, or three, made of posts, and boards or planks, same 
as the back. Sills or plates are put on the front and back 
Avails, and then rafters at three and a half to four feet 
apart. The sashes slip in between the rafters, and rest 
on a strip of wood on their sides. Unless the grapery be 
very small, the sash shonld be in two parts, the lower one 
twice as long as the npper, and fixed. The npper to slide 
down over the nnder one on pulleys, to ventilate the lionse ; 
doors are in each end at the back, and means are provided 
for admitting air in front by the opening of boards like 
shutters. 

The torcler is made for the vines outside the front wall, 
or part outside and part in, twelve to sixteen feet wide, 
also two or three deej). This is done by digging a trench 
or pit the length and width ; draining it thoroughly, that 
not a drop of water can lodge about it. Then lay a few 
inches of small stones, broken bricks, shells, etc., in the 
bottom for drainage ; and fill up the remainder six inches 
above the level of the ground, and sloping outw^ards, with 
a good compost, of one-half surface loam (turf from an old 
pasture), and the other of well rotted stable manure, 
shells, street scraj)ings, a small portion of night soil, offal, 
etc. All these must be prej^ared by frequent turning and 
mixing a few months beforehand. 

The vines may be one or two years old, and are prefer- 
able in pots raised from single eyes. They should be 
planted in the spring. A plant is placed under each 
rafter outside, and carried through under the wall into the 
house. The stem is cut back to two or three eyes, and when 
these break the strongest shoot is selected, and the others 
pinched off". This shoot is trained, as it grows, to a light 
trellis of iron, or thick wire rods attached to the rafter, 
and eight or ten inches from the glass. If all goes well, 
it reaches the top of the house that season. In September 
the top may be pinched to check the flow of sap to the 



THE GEAPE YTKE. 255 

point, and throw it more into the lateral buds to increase 
their strength. During the summer no other shoot is 
allowed to grow but this. 

Pruning. — In November or December it is taken down, 
pruned, if according to the spur system, which is the sim- 
plest, to within three or four feet of its base, laid on the 
ground, and covered with leaves, evergreen boughs, or 
mats. There it remains till the buds begin to swell in 
the sj)ring, when it is again fastened to the trellis. The 
shoot from the terminal bud continues the cane, and no 
fruit is allowed on it. Those below it produce lateral 
shoots, from each of which a bunch of grapes may be 
taken, and each of these must be stoj^ped at two eyes 
above the bunch ; and this is repeated as often as neces- 
sary, to give the fruit the whole benefit of the sap. The 
leading shoot is again stopped in September by pinching 
off its 23oint, to increase the vigor of its lateral buds. In 
the fall, when the leaves have dropped, the vine is again 
taken down. The leader is pruned back to within three 
to four feet of the old wood. The laterals that have borne 
are pruned to three eyes, and it is then covered up. This 
is the routine of spur training. In long cane pruning, the 
young shoot, after the first season's growth, is cut back 
to three eyes, and the next season two shoots are trained 
up. The next season the strongest is selected for fruit, and 
pruned to about three feet ; each of the eyes left will 
produce a fruit shoot, from which one bunch only will be 
taken. The weaker cane is cut back to one eye, and tl lis 
produces a shoot for next year's bearing, and so this goes 
on. When the vine becomes strong, several bearing canes 
may be provided for every season. This renewal or long 
cane is very simple, and requires much less cutting than 
the spur. It also produces a superior cjuality of fruit, but 
in general not so large a quantity. 

Thinning the Fruit. — When the fruit attains the size 



256 PEUNING. 

of a garden pea, one third of the smaller ones should be 
cnt out careful] J with pointed scissors (see im]3lements) 
that are prepared for this purpose. The object of this is, 
to allow the fruits to swell out to their full size. Yarie- 
ties that j^roduce very compact bunches require more 
severe thinning than those of a loose, open bunch. 

Cleaning the Vine. — At the time the vines are taken 
from their winter quarters and trellised, thej should be 
well washed with a solution of soft soap and tobacco 
water, to kill all eggs of insects, and remove all loose 
bark and filth that may have accumulated on them dur- 
ing the season previous. The house, too, should be 
cleaned and renovated at the same time. 

Syringing the Vines and the Fruit. — Every one who 
has a grapery must be provided with a good hand syringe, 
for this is necessary during the whole season. As soon 
as they begin to grow, they should be occasionally 
S}Tinged in the morning, except while they are in bloom. 
After the fruit has set, they should be syringed every 
evening, and the house kept closed till the next forenoon 
when the sun is out warm. 

Regulating the temperature. — When the temperature 
exceeds ninety to one hundred degrees, air should be ad- 
mitted at the top, and, if necessary, at the bottom. 

To ]}revent mildew. — This may be looked for in July. 
Syi'inging freely night and morning, and the admission 
of air during the warmest hours of the day, are the best 
preventives of this disease. Mr. Allen recommends 
dusting sulphur on the floor, at the rate of one 230und for 
every twenty square feet ; and if it continues to increase, 
to syringe the vines in the evening, and dust the foliage 
with it. 

Mr. Buist recommends a solution of five pounds of flour 
of sulphm- in four gallons of water, and after it has set- 



THE FILBERT. 257 

tied to add one foui'tli of it to the water used in syring- 
ing. 

This is but an imperfect outline of the management of 
a cold grapery. Those who wish full information on all 
points of the subject, should consult Allen's excellent 
work, which treats of all kinds of graperies and their 
management in complete detail. 

Section 9. — Pruning and TradsING the Filbert. 

The filbert in this country is a neglected fruit. It is 
seldom found in the garden, and more rarely still in a 
prolific, well-grown condition. Of all other trees, it re- 
quires regular and proper pruning to maintain its fruitful- 
ness. The blossoms are monoecious — that is, the male 
organs which are in long catkins (fig. 36), are produced 
from one bud, and the female flowers from another. 

The blossom or fruit buds are produced on shoots of one 
year's growth, and bear fruit the next. The fruit is borne 
in a cluster on the end of a small twig produced from the 
bud bearing the female organs. 

It is said that in the neighborhood of Maidstone, county 
of Kent, England, the filbert orchards occupy several 
hundred acres, and from these the principal supply of the 
London market is obtained. One acre has been known to 
produce £50 sterling, or $250 worth, in one season. The 
pruning of these Kent growers is supposed to be most 
perfect of its kind, especially for their soil and climate. 
It is described as follows in the " Transactions of the Lon- 
don Horticultural Society :" 

" The suckers are taken from the parent plant generally in the 
autumn, and planted in nursery beds (being first shortened to ten 
or twelve inches), where they remain three or four years. They 
are slightly pruned every year, in order to form strong lateral 
shoots, the number of which varies from four to six. But though 



258 PEUNING. 

it is the usual practice to plant the suckers in nursery beds, I 
would advise every one to plant them where they are to remain, 
wliethcr they are intended for a garden or a larger plantation ; 
and after being suffered to grow without restraint for three or four 
years, to cut them down within a few inches of the ground. 
From the remaining part, if the trees are well rooted in the soil, 
five or six strong shoots will bo produced. Whichever method is 
practised, the subsequent treatment of the trees will be exactly 
the same. 

"In the second year after cutting down, these shoots are 
shortened ; generally one-third is taken off. If very weak, I 
would advise that the trees be quite cut down a second time, as in 
the previous spring ; but it would be much better not to cut them 
down till the trees give evident tokens of their being able to pro- 
duce shoots of sufficient strength. When they are thus shortened, 
that they may appear regular, let a small hoop be placed within 
the branches, to which the shoots are to be fastened at equal dis- 
tances. By this practice two considerable advantages will be 
gained — the trees will grow more regular, and the middle will be 
kept hollow, so as to admit the influence of the sun and air. 

" In the third year a shoot will spring from each bud ; these 
must be suffered to grow till the following autumn, or fourth year, 
when they are to be cut off nearly close to the original stem, and 
the leading shoot of the last year shortened two-tbirds. 

" In the fifth year several small shoots will arise from the bases 
of the side branches which were cut off the preceding year ; these 
are produced from small buds, and would not have been emitted 
had not the branch on which they are situated been shortened, 
the whole nourishment being carried to the upper part of the 
branch. It is from these shoots that fruit is to be expected. 
These productive shoots will in a few years become very numerous, 
and many of them must be taken off, particularly the strongest, 
in order to encourage the production of the smaller ones ; for 
those of the former year become so exhausted that they generally 
decay ; but whether decayed or not, they are always cut out by 
the pruner, and a fresh supply must therefore be provided to pro- 
duce the fruit in the succeeding year. The leading shoot is every 



THE FILBERT. 259 

year to be shortened two-thirds, or more should the tree be weak, 
and the whole height of the branches must not exceed six feet. 

" The method of pruninir above detailed might, in a few words, 
be called a method of spurring, by which bearing shoots are pro- 
duced, which otherwise would have had no existence. Old trees 
are easily induced to bear in this manner, by selecting a sufficient 
number of the main branches, and then cutting the side shoots 
off nearly close, excepting any should be so situated as not to 
interfere with the others, and there should be no main branch di- 
rected to that particular part. It will, however, be two or three 
years before the full effect will be produced. By the above 
method of pruning, thirty hundred per acre have been grown in 
particular grounds and in particular years, yet twenty hundred is 
considered a large crop, and rather more than half that quantity 
may be called a more usual one ; and even then the crop totally 
fails three years out of five ; so that the annual average quantity 
cannot be reckoned at more than five hundred per acre. 

" When I reflected upon the reason of failure happening so 
often as three years out of five, it occurred to me that possibly 
it might arise from the excessive productiveness of the other two. 
In order to ensure fruit every year, I haVe usually left a large pro- 
portion of those shoots which, from their strength, I suspected 
would not be so productive of blossom-buds as the shorter ones ; 
leaviog them more in a state of nature than is usually done, not 
pruning them so closely as to weaken the trees by excessive bear- 
ing, nor leaving them so entirely to their natural growth, as to 
cause their annual productiveness to be destroyed by a superfluity 
of wood. These shoots, in the spring of the year, I have usuall- 
shortened to a blossom-bud." 

Such is the management of these celebrated filbert 
growers, their principal object being to keep the trees 
small, open in the centre, and covered in every j^art with 
fruit spurs. A similar system, but less severe in the cut- 
ting back, may be pursued here ; some such course of 
treatment as recommended for the head of the quince as 
to form and fruitfidness. 



260 PRUNING. 

Instead of relying on the spring pruning to subdue 
vigor and induce fruitfulness, pinching should be j)rac- 
tised during the summer; for this not only checks the 
production of wood, but of roots. Root pruning, too, may 
be safely practised in August, when j)i'iining and pinch- 
ing of the branches prove insufficient. 

In all cases, suckers must be completely eradicated 
every season, or as soon as they make their appearance. 
The want of pruning, and the growth of suckers, make 
the filbert in nearly all our gardens completely barren ; a 
rank production of wood only is obtained year after year. 

"We find that grafting the finer kinds on stocks of the 
common filbert raised from seed, renders the trees much 
more prolific naturally, and also smaller in size. We 
have trees here now bearing only three years from the 
graft ; the stems are eighteen inches to two feet high, and 
they are very j)retty. Their natural vigor is greatly sub- 
dued by the graft. The French conduct them in pyramids 
with great success, on the same principle as other trees. 

Section 10. — Culture, Pruning, and Training or the Fig. 

In the JsTorthern States the fig is cultivated with very 
little success in the open ground, but fine crops are pro- 
duced in the vineries recommended for foreign grapes ; 
and it is in these only that its culture can yield any con- 
siderable degree of satisfaction, north of Maryland at 
least. 

Propagation. — The surest and best mode is by layers. 
A large branch may be layered in the spring, and will be 
sufficiently rooted in the fall to be planted out. Cuttings 
also strike freely, and make good plants in one season. 
All the modes of propagation recommended for the 
quince, may be applied to the fig. Cuttings are generall'^ 
preferred in the South. 



THE FIG. 261 

Soil. — It succeeds in any good rich, warm garden soil, 
suitable for other fruit trees. In very light or dry soils 
the fniits fall before maturity, as they require at that 
season in particular a large amount of moisture ; but it is 
better that it be too dry than too moist, for in the latter 
case nothing but soft unripe and unfruitful shoots is 
obtained, whilst in the former moisture can be supplied at 
the time when it may be required. The wood should be 
short-jointed, the buds not more than one-fourth of an 
inch apart. In England dry chalky soils produce the 
finest crops. 

Pruning. — ^The fig is somewhat ^^eculiar in its mode of 
bearing. ]^o blossoms apj^ear, but the figs are produced 
on the stem, appearing at first like buds. The young 
shoots of last season bear fruit the next; and the shoots 
produced during first growth produce fruit the same 
season, and this is called the " second crop." These never 
ripen, and should never be encouraged where the plants 
require protection. In warm climates, as in some of our 
Southern States, these two crops ripen perfectly, though 
the first from the previous season's wood is larger and 
better. 

This mode of bearing shows that little pruning is neces- 
sary, beyond the cutting away of old or worn out branches, 
and thinning and regulating others. Unfruitful trees, in 
a moist and rich ground, should be pinched in summer to 
check their growth, and concentrate the sap more in the 
lateral buds. Hoot Pruning^ too, may be applied as on 
other trees. Mr. Downing recommends this in his Fruit 
and Fruit Trees. 

Training. — Wherever the trees are hardy enough to 
withstand the winter without protection, they may be 
grown in the form of low standards, as recommended for 
the peach ; but when protection is required, where the 
branches have to be laid down and covered during winter, 



262 PRUNING. 

they must be grown in stools or bnshes, with a dozen or 
more stems rising from the socket. These are easily laid 
down and covered, and easily brought up to their places 
again, in the w^ay that raspberry canes are managed. To 
produce this form, the young tree is planted in the bottom 
of a trench about a third deeper than in ordinary cases, and 
a basin is left around it. At the end of the first season's 
grow^th, it is cut back to a few inches of the base ; there a 
number of shoots are produced. As these grow up the 
earth is drawn in around them, to favor the production 
of other shoots at their base ; and in this way it is 
managed until the requisite number of branches is ob- 
tained. 

Protection. — ^Trained in this way, a trench is opened for 
each branch, or three or four may be put in one trench, 
if convenient ; they are fastened down with hooked pegs 
as in layering, and covered with a foot of earth, which 
should be drawn up in the mound form, to throw off the 
w^ater. 

Ripening the fruit. — In fig growing countries, and to 
some extent here, there is a practice of applying a drop of 
olive oil to the eye of the fruit, to hasten its maturity. 
This is usually done by means of a straw. 

Training in Grai?erie8. — The back wall of a lean-to cold 
vinery is an excellent place for the fig. It may be 
trained on a trellis in the fan or horizontal manner, but 
severe pruning must not be practised to produce regu- 
larity. 

Section 11. — Pruning the Gooseberry. 

The gooseberry produces fruit buds and spurs on wood 
two years old and upwards. Fig. 127 represents the two- 
year-old wood, ^, with fruit buds (7, (7, and B, the one- 



THE GOOSEBEKIil*. 



263 



year old wood with wood buds, D^ D. Of 
these wood buds, the upper one next season 
would produce a shoot, and the lower ones 
would probably be transformed into fruit 
buds. At the base of one of the fruit buds, 
C, may be seen a small wood bud d ; this 
during next season will produce a small 
shoot or spur. The great point to aim at in 
this country, must always be to maintain a 
vigorous condition; the moment the plant 
becomes feeble or stinted, the fruit is so at- 
tacked with mildew or rust as to be utterly 
worthless. Hence it is that young plants 
usually bear excellent crops for the first or 
second year, while after that the mildew is 
in some varieties and situations unconquer- 
able. 

The bush should have a stem of three or 
four inches in height, and a head composed 
of five or six main branches, placed at equal 



Fig. 127. 
[ranch of the 

distances and inclined outwards, to prevent gooseberry, j, two 

year old wood, B, 
one year, C. C, 
fruit buds, D. D' 
wood buds, d, a 
small wood bud at 
the base of fruit 
bud C. 



denseness and confusion in the centre. 
These main branches should be furnished 
with bearing wood in all their length. The 
production of such a bush may be accom- 
j)lished by the following means : 

Supposing the young plant as it comes from the nurser}^ 
to be either a two-year old cutting, or a one-year bedded 
layer, in either case it will have a stem of two or three 
inches at least, and a few branches at the toj). Before 
planting, all the buds on the part of the stem to be below 
the ground are cut out, to prevent them from producing 
suckers. Among the branches, three of those most favor- 
ably situated, are selected for the formation of the head, 



264 PRUNING. 

and the others are cut out entirely. The reserved branches 
are then cut back to two or three buds ; from these one 
shoot is taken on each branch, and the others are pinched 
to favor this. By this method we shall have three stout 
shoots in the fall. If the plant had been well rooted, in- 
stead of being newly transjDlanted, we might have taken 
two shoots instead of one from each shortened branch. 
These three branches are cut back at the next pruning to 
three or four buds, and from each two new shoots are 
taken, giving at the end of that season six stout young 
shoots, situated at equal distances. At the next or third 
2)runing these branches are cut back about one-half, in 
order to produce lateral branches and fruit spurs. At the 
fourth pruning, the leading shoot is shortened one-third 
to one-half. Any lateral branches not required to fill up 
spaces, or such as are improperly placed, are cut back to 
three or four buds, so as to convert them into fruit 
branches. 

In this w^ay the pruning is conducted from year to year. 
"When the plants become feeble from overbearing, the 
fruit branches may be headed down and replaced by new 
vigorous shoots. The better way, however, to provide 
for this difficulty, is to raise young plants from layers or 
cuttings, to be at once substituted for such as fall a victim 
to the mildew. A northern aspect, a cool, damp, substan- 
tial soil, and abundance of manure, are all necessary, in 
connection with the pruning described, to produce fine 
gooseberi'ies. 

The famous growers of Lancashire, England, outdo all 
the world besides in the production of large gooseberries. 
Tlie Encyclopaedia of Gardening says — " To effect this 
increased size, every stimulant is applied that their inge- 
nuity can suggest ; they not only annually manm-e tlie soil 
richly, but also surround the plants with trenches of ma- 
nure for the extremities of the roots to strike into, and 



THE CURRANT. 265 

form round tlie stem of each plant a basin, to be miilclied, 
or manured, or watered, as may become necessary. "When 
a root has extended too far from the stem it is uncovered, 
and all the strongest leaders are shortened back nearly 
one-half of their length,* and covered with fresh marly loam, 
well manured. The effect of this pruning is to increase 
the number of fibres and spongioles, which form rapidly 
on the shortened roots, and strike out in all directions 
among the fresh, newly stirred loam, in search of nutri- 
ment. 

They also practise what they term sucMing their prize 
fruit. By preparing a very rich soil, and by watering, 
and the use of liquid manure, shading and thinning, the 
large fruit of the prize cultivator is produced. IsTot con- 
tent with watering at root, and over the top, the Lanca- 
shire connoisseur, when he is growing for exhibition, 
places a small saucer of water immediately under each 
gooseberry, only three or four of which he leaves on a 
tree; this he technically calls suckling. He also pinches 
off a great part of the young wood, so as to throw all the 
strength he can into the fruit. 

Section 12. — Pruning and Management of the 
Currant. 

The red and white currants bear like the gooseberry on 
wood not less than two years old, and, therefore, the same 
system of pruning may be applied to them. The most 
convenient and easily-managed form in which they can 
be grown, is that of a bush or small tree, with a stem of 
three to six inches high, and a head composed of a cer- 
tain number, say six or eight principal branches, situated 
at equal distances, and not nearer to one another at the 
extremities than six or eight inches. 

These brandies are produced by cutting back the 
12 



266 PKUNING. 

young slioots found on tlie nursery j^lant, as recommended 
for the gooseberry. They are afterwards annually short- 
ened to produce lateral branches, when wanted, and 
fruit spurs. Care must be taken not to prune too close, as 
this causes the buds on the lower parts to make wood 
instead of fruit spurs : one third, and in many cases one 
fourth, will be quite sufficient. 

Tlie Currant as a Pyramid. — The currant is very easily 
formed into pretty pyramids. The mode of conducting 
them will be similar to that recommended for other 
trees. 

A good strong shoot must first be obtained to com- 
mence upon ; this is cut back, and laterals produced as 
though it were a yearling cherry tree. Summer pruning 
and pinching must be duly put in practice, under any 
form, to keep up an equality of growth among the shoots, 
and to check misplaced and superfluous ones. This will 
obviate a great deal of cutting at the winter or spring 
pruning. Mr. Rivers, in his " Miniature Fruit Garden," 
says : " A near neighbor of mine, an ingenious gardener, 
attaches much value, and with reason, to his pyramidal 
currant trees ; for his table is supplied abundantly with 
their fruit till late in autumn. The leading shoots of his 
trees are fastened to iron rods ; they form nice pyramids 
about five feet high ; and by the clever contrivance of 
slipping a bag made of coarse muslin over them as soon 
as the fruit is ripe, fastening it securely at the bottom, 
wasps, birds, flies, and all the ills that beset ripe currants 
are excluded." 

The Currant as an Espalier. — It is sometimes desirable, 
both to economize space and to retard the period of ripen- 
ing, to train currants on a north w^all or trellis ; and this 
is very easily done with success. We have seen the north 
side of a neighbor's garden fence completely covered 
with currants without any system whatever being pur- 



THE RASPEEKKY. 26Y 

sued in laying in the branches. The plants were about 
five feet apart, and the branches were fastened to the 
wall in a sort of fan form. The proper way to treat the 
currant as an espalier is, to produce two strong branches 
on a stem six to twelve inches high. These branches are 
trained out in a horizontal manner like two arms — one on 
each side ; and from the shoots which they will produce, 
as many as are to be had at the distance of six inches 
from one another are trained in an upright position, as in 
the grape vine (fig. 121). 

These upright shoots are managed in the same way as 
the branches of a bush ; they are annually shortened back 
a little to ensure a good supply of fruit buds. 

The hlack currant produces its best fruit on the wood 
of the preceding year, therein differing from the others. 
In pruning it, the young wood must be preserved, and 
branches that have borne must be cut back to produce a 
succession of new bearing wood, as in the filbert. 

Mamiring. — No other fruit tree is so patient under bad 
treatment as the currant, and yet none yields a more 
prompt or abundant reward for kindness. In addition to 
the annual pruning described, the bushes should receive 
a dressing of old, well-prepared manure, two or three 
inches deep, spread all around as far as the roots go, 
and forked lightly in. It is a great feeder, and, with- 
out these annual dressings, the soil becomes so poor that 
the fruit is really not w^orth gathering. 

PLANTING, PRUNING, AND TRAINING THE RASPBERRY. 

Planting. — ^The raspberry succeeds well in all good 
garden soils. The most advantageous and economical 
position for a raspberry bed in the garden, is generally in 
the wall border, facing north. In this situation the fruit 
ripens sufficiently, and the canes are not so liable to suffer 



268 



PRUNING. 



from alternate freezing and thawing in the winter. The 
young canes or snckers are shortened full one half, and 
planted at the distance of two or three feet. Any flowers 
that make their appearance on them the first season 
should be removed, in order to turn all the sap to the 
benefit of the leaves and new roots, and the production 
of a young cane for the next season. 

Pruning.- — ^The stem is biennial — that is, the canes 
are produced one season and bear fruit the next, and then 
die. For example, in fig. 128, A is the old cane that has 
borne, and is of no further use. B is 
the young cane produced at its base 
last season. The fruit buds produce 
small shoots, «, a^ <^, that bear the 
fruit. The pruning is very sim]3le ; 
it consists merely in cutting away 
early in the spring the old cane that 
has borne. Some people do this as 
soon as the fruit is gathered, on the 
ground that the young cane is 
strengthened by so doing ; but this is 
questionable. It may be, on the 
whole, safer to leave it to finish its 
natural course, and cut it away at the 
spring or winter pruning. 

The young cane is shortened to 
three feet, or three and a half or four, 
if it be quite stout and vigorous. When the plants have 
been a year or two in their place, several canes will be 
produced from one stool in the same season ; but three 
or four only are reserved, and these the strongest. Each 
one is pruned or shortened as above, in order to concen- 
trate the sap on the bearing buds on the centre and lower 
parts. This not only increases the size, but improves the 
quality of the fruit. When the suckers become very 




Fig. 128. 

The Raspberry. A, the 
old cane that has borne 
and will be cut away. B, 
the young cane for next 
season, to be shortened at 
cross line b. C, radical 
bud, to produce a cane 
next season. 



THE KASPBEEEY. 



269 



numerous, they enfeeble the j)lant, and it soon becomes 
worthless. The new ever-bearing variety throws up a 
great profusion. All the weaker superfluous ones should 
be carefully removed w^ith a trowel early in the season, 
say when they have attained five or six inches of growth. 
In selecting such as are to be reserved, preference should 
be given to those being nearest in the regular row of 
plants. Some of the French authors recommend leaving 
a hole ten or twelve inches deej) around each plant at the 
time of planting, to be filled up gradually, three or four 
inches a year, with fresh earth, to promote the formation 
of vigorous radical buds, at the collar of the root, as re- 
commended for the fig. 

Manuring. — A liberal dressing of well-decomposed 
manure should be given them every fall, worked care- 
fully in among the roots with the digging fork. With 
this treatment a bed will continue productive for seven 
years at least. 

Training. — Mr. Dubriel describes a very pretty and 
simple method of training practised in France, and I had 
the pleasure of seeing it carried into practice in the 
Eouen Garden (fig. 129). 




Fig. 129. 
French mode of training the raspberry to stakes and ropes. 

The railing ^, is a narrow strip of board, or a small 
pole, supported on upright stakes ; it is eighteen inches 
from the row of plants, and three feet from the ground. 
When the young bearing canes are pruned in the spring, 



270 



PRUNING. 



tliey are bent over and fastened to this rail ; and thns the 
yonng snckers grow up without mixing with the fruit 
branches ; consequently the fruit ripens better and is 
more easily gathered. During the summer, when the 
young suckers destined to bear the year following, have 
reached the height of two feet, they are fastened to a 
similar rail on the other side of the row, and the same 
distance from the line of the ground. 

The following is an English mode of training described 
in the " London Gardeners' Chronicle." In fig. 130, the 




Fig. 130. 
English mode of training the raspberry. 

uprights between every two or three plants are iron, and 
the horizontal lines to which the canes are attached, are 
tarred rope. 

In fig. 131, the plants are supposed to be placed in 
rows four feet apart, and about the same distance from 
one another in the row. The number of shoots on each 




Fio. 131. 
English mode oi training the raspberry to stakes. 

is regulated during the growing season, no more ])j*ii 



RENOVATING APPLE AND PEAR TEEES. 271 

allowed to remain than the plant is capable of sn23port- 
ing. In most cases six or eight shoots will be sufficient. 
AVliere this method is practised, a row of raspberries in 
autumn will have something of the appearance repre- 
sented in fig. 131 ; the arched portion, tied to the stake 
in the centre, being the canes wdiich bore fruit last year, 
and which must be cut down to the bottom, and be re- 
placed by the upright shoots of last summer. 

In this last arrangement, live or six fruit-bearing canes 
are tied together to one stake, and it is impossible that 
the fruit can either ripen well or be gathered easily. The 
two first are good and simple plans. 

Renovating pyramidal trees of Apples and Pears that 
have heconie enfeebled or unproductive hy age^ bad soil^ 
hearing^ or hadijrxming, — There are two methods of doing 
this successfully ; one is, to cut back all parts of the tree — 
the stem may be cut back half its length, the lateral 
branches at the base to w^ithin tw^elve or fifteen inches of 
the stem, and shorter as they advance upwards, so that 
those at the top will be cut to fom' or six inches. This 
will preserve the pyramidal forin. 

It may appear unnecessary to cut back the stem, but 
we find when this is not done it is almost impossible to 
secure an equal growth between the upper and lower 
parts, because the wood at the top is yomig, and attracts 
the sap much more than the w^ood at the base of the old 
branches below. For a few years after this renewal the 
young wood at the top must be kept very closely pruned, 
to prevent it from absorbing more than its due pro- 
portion of the sap. When growth commences on trees 
thus cut back, a large number of shoots w^ill be produced. 
Amongst those on the stem, a strong and well placed one 
must be selected for a leader, and its growth favored by 
checking those around it. Leaders for each of the lateral 
bi-anches must be selected and encouraojed in the same 



2T2 PEIJNING. 

way. The future management will be similar to that 
described for tlie formation of young trees. "We have 
succeeded well with a large number of trees thus treated. 
Where the soil is defective, it must be improved and 
renewed with fresh soil and composts, so that abundant 
nutriment shall be given to the new growth. 

The second method of renewal referred to is, that of 
cutting back as already described, and grafting each 
branch. 

The process of regrafting old orchards of standard 
apple trees, it is well known, renews their vigor, and 
replaces old worn out and deformed branches with young 
and vigorous ones, giving to the entire head a healthy and 
youthful appearance. In many cases this grafting will 
be much more successful than simply cutting back, for 
the scions being furnished with young and active buds, 
that develope leaves at once, attract the sap from the 
roots, place it in contact with the atmosphere, and carry 
on the formative process in all parts of the tree with less 
interruption and greater activity than where reliance is 
placed upon the production of new shoots on the old wood ; 
for this must be effected by awakening dormant buds, 
which in many cases takes place slowly, and with more 
or less difficulty. 

SUNDKY OPEEATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE CULTUEE OF FKTJIT 

TEEES. 

1st. The annual cultivation of tJie soil. — ^The soil around 
fruit trees should, especially in the garden, be kept in a 
clean friable condition by the frequent use of the hoe and 
the spade ; but in all these operations the roots must not 
be injured. The forked spade (see imj^lements) is the best 
for operating about the roots. 

2d. Jfanuring. — ^Tlie very common practice in regard 



WATEKING, ETC. 273 

to the use of manure, is to apply none for several years, 
until the trees have begun to show signs of feebleness and 
exhaustion, when large quantities are applied, thus in- 
ducing a rank plethoric growth, that can scarcely fail to 
be seized with diseases. The proper way is to apply a 
small dressing of well-decomposed material, like some of 
the composts recommended, every autumn. This should 
be forked in around the extremities of the roots. There 
may be rich soils where this will be unnecessary ; but 
most ordinary garden soils require it. 

3d. Mulcldng. — This should be a universal practice in 
our dry and warm summer climate, not only with newly- 
planted trees, but all, and especially dwarfs in the garden 
whose roots are near the surface. Three or four inches 
deep of half decayed stable manure or litter makes a 
good mulching. It should be applied in May, and remain 
all summer. After the fall dressing a mulching for the 
winter will protect the roots and base of the tree from 
injury; it should be so well decayed as not to attract 
vermin. 

4th. Watering. — In dry times, and especially in light, 
dry soils, fruit trees will derive vast benefits from a liberal 
syringing over head in the evening, with a hand or garden 
syringe (see implements). A reservoir in the garden is 
therefore desirable, and at a point, too, easy of access from 
all the quarters of the garden. This watering refreshes 
the trees, drives away insects, mildew, etc., and washes 
off dust and filth that may accumulate on the foliage and 
fill up the pores. It is more necessary in city and village, 
than in country gardens. 

Protecting trees against extremes of temperature. — 
"Where the trunk or large branches are liable to injury 
from sudden changes of temperature in the winter, or 
from a powerful sun in summer, they may be covered 
thinly with long rye straw, fastened on with willows, 
12- 



274 CULTURE OF FEriT TEEES. 

The trunk alone is more easily protected by means of two 
boards nailed together, forming an angle for the tree. 
This is placed on the sonth side, the injury being induced 
chiefly by the sun at both seasons. 

Newly-transplanted trees, especially if they have tall 
trunks, and are somewhat injured before planting, may 
be saved by wrapping them lightly with straw ; — a straw 
rope rolled around answers the purpose. A little damp 
moss is still better ; an occasional watering will keep it 
cool and moist, and enable the sap to flow under the bark. 



PART IV. 



SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS— GATHERING AND PRE- 
SERVING FRUITS-DISEASES— INSECTS— IMPLEMENTS IN 
CO.MMON USE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ABRIDGED DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT VARIETIES OP 
ERUITS. 

The accumulation of varieties of fruits within the last 
ten years has been so great, that anything like a complete 
description, or account of them all, would in itself exceed 
the bounds of a moderate sized volume. Taken alto- 
gether, there are perhaps at this moment no fewer than one 
thousand different 'varieties under cultivation. To trace 
out the history, the peculiar characters and merits of 
these, must be the work of the pomologist, and forms no 
part in the design of this treatise. In making the follow- 
ing selections, and in describing them, pomological system 
and minuteness have not been deemed necessary, nor would 
they be practicable within the necessary limits. 

The main object aimed at is, to bring to the notice of 
cultivators the hest 'varieties^ those which ample experi- 
ence has proved to be really valuable^ or which upon a 
partial trial give strong indications of becoming so. 
IS'othing is more embarrassing to the inexperienced culti- 
vator than long lists ; and many will no doubt be inclined 
to think that a large number of the following varieties 
might very well be dispensed with. But it must be 
remembered that our country, even the great fruit grow- 
ing regions of it, possesses different climates, that there 
are various qualities of soils, various tastes and circum- 
stances of individuals to be provided for. A dozen or 



Z^b SELECT VARIETIES OF FKUITS. 

twenty sorts of apples or pears may be as many as one 
person may require ; but it does not follow that these vari- 
eties only are to be cultivated, for it is very probable that 
another individual, residing even in the same State, would 
make a selection entirely different. ^New York, Massa- 
chusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and 
other States, have all varieties of their own; and by the 
time each has made a selection, our one hundred and fifty 
varieties will be approj^riated, and a deficiency still exist 
in all probability. "We are not of those wdio cry out 
against new varieties. On the contrary, w^e look upon 
every one of real excellence as an additional blessing to 
the fruit growers and to society, for which they should be 
duly thankful. The only thing to be observed in regard 
to them is, that before entering into general cultivation 
they should be fairly and carefully Jtested under various 
circutQstances. Some well meaning persons make a great 
cry out against nurserymen and others, whose business it 
is to experiment, for extending their lists, or noticing new 
varieties. If such a spirit had prevailed, how would oui 
fruits have been to-day ? 

It is by no means presumed that the following lists are 
perfect, even as far as they go. I^o individual possesses 
such a thorough knowledge of the various soils and cli- 
mates of our country, or of the • varieties of fruits best 
adapted to them, as to enable him to recommend with in- 
fallible correctness special lists for all localities. 

In attempting this, reliance must be placed upon the 
experience and reports of others, and these are always 
liable to be biased by tastes or prejudices. These things 
have been kept in view, and wherever recommendations 
are made beyond our own knowledge and experience, 
they are based upon the most reliable authority, and it is 
hoped will not be found wholly unserviceable to those 
especially who have neither had experience nor accoss to 



APPLES. 279 

sources of extensive and minute information. Those who 
are not satisfied with the abridged descriptions, are 
referred to works more strictly pomological ; such as 
^^Downinr/s Fruit and Fruit Trees^'' '-'' Thomas' s Amer- 
ican Fruit Culturist^'' '''' Hovey^s Fruits of America f^ 
besides, Hovey^s Monthly Magazine^ The Horticidturist^ 
Genesee Farmer^ and other periodicals, where all new and 
rare fruits are noticed and described. 



FIRST DIVISION.— KERNEL FRUIT— APPLES, PEARS AND 

QUINCES. 

Section 1, — Select Apples. 

CLASS I. summer apples. 

1. American Summer Pearmain. — Medium size, oblong, 
skin smooth, red and yellow; tender, juicy and rich. 
Tree a slow, but erect and handsome grower; bears early 
and abundantly ; one of the best in nearly all parts of the 
country. — September. 

2. Astracluvn^ Red. — Large, roundish, nearly covered 
with deep crimson, and a thick bloom like a plum ; juicy, 
rich, acid ; one of the most beautifid apples. The tree is a 
vigorous grower w^ith large foliage, and a good bearer. — 
Russian. — August. 

3. Benoni. — Medium size, round, red; flesh tender, 
juicy and rich ; a good bearer and strong upright grower. 
— From Massachusetts. — August. 

4. Bought Large Sweet (Large yellow bough of Down- 
ing). — Large, pale yellow, sweet, rich flavored. Tree a 
moderate, compact grower, and abundant bearer. — Aug. 

5. Bevan^s Favorite. — A new Jersey aj)ple, where it is 
esteemed as one of the best of its season. Medium size, 
roundish striped, sub-acid and good. — August. 

6. Bohanan. — A very delicious high-flavord apple 



280 SELECT VARIETIES OF FUTJITS. 

of Kentucky. Eoundisli, or inclining to oval, deep yellow. 
Yery tender, sprightly and fine. — August to October. 

Y. Caroline Red June. — A very early and good apple, 
cultivated considerably in Michigan, Wisconsin, &c. 
About as large as the Summer Queen. Have seen good 
specimens from Kalamazoo. 

8. Early Harvest. — Medium to large size, round, pale 
yellow, rich sub-acid. Tree a moderate grower, but erect 
and handsome, and a good bearer. — Last of July to Aug. 

9. Early Strawberry. — Medium size, smooth and fair, 
mostly covered with deep red; tender, almost melting, 
with a mild, fine fiavor. Tree a moderate, erect grower, 
and a good bearer; a beautiful and excellent variety for 
both orchard and garden. — Middle to end of August. 

10. Early Joe. — A beautiful and delicious, small sized, 
deep red apj)le. Tree rather a slow, but upright grower, 
and a most profuse bearer ; originated in Ontario County, 
]^. Y. — Last of August. 

11. Early Chandler. — ^Medium size, roundish, striped, 
good quality. Originated in Connecticut, but is exten- 
sively cultivated in some jjarts of Ohio, where it succeeds 
well. The tree is vigorous and erect. — August and Sept. 

12. Early Pennock. — ^This variety is quite popular in 
some districts of Ohio, and very little known elsewhere. 
It is described as a magnificent, large, conical, yellow and 
red apple, ripening there the middle of August. 

13. Garretson^s Early. — Medium size, greenish yellow 
tender, juicy and pleasant. Tree vigorous, very produc- 
tive, and bears young. Noticed first in Hovey's Magazine, 
September, 1848. Supposed to have originated in ]^ew 
Jersey ; not much disseminated. — July and August. 

14. Golden Sweeting.— L^^rgQ^ roundish, pale yellow, a 
very fair, fine, sweet apple. Tree a strong grower, spread- 
ing and irregular ; a good bearer. — August. 

15. Keswick Codlin.—LsiTge, oblong, pale yellOw, acid. 



APPLES. 281 

Tree erect and very vigorous ; bears when quite young and 
abundantly; excellent for cooking from July to October. 

16. Lyman^s Large Summer. — Large, roundish, pale 
yellow, rich and excellent. The tree requires shortening 
like the peach, to keep up a pro23er supply of young shoots, 
as they bear only on the ends. — August. 

17. Manomet (Horseblock Apple). — ^This is an excellent 
late summer, sweet apple, originated near Plymouth, Mas- 
sachusetts, and named by Mr. John Washburn of that 
town. It is described in Hovey's Magazine, September, 
1848, as " one of the finest early sweet apples," " having 
a deep yellow skin, and a bright vermillion cheek." The 
tree is vigorous and a good bearer. — August and Sept. 

18. OsUn (Oslin Pippin, Arbroath Pippin). — A famous 
Scotch apple, succeeds well in Upper Canada. Medium 
size, roundish, yellow ; fi^esh juicy, rich and fine. Tree 
productive. — xlugust and September. 

19. Ornes Early. — Large, yelloAv, wdth a dull, red 
cheek, tender, juicy and fine. Imported from France to 
Massachusetts without a name, and afterwards described 
in Hovey's Magazine under this title. The tree is a strong 
grower. 

20. Summei' Belle-fleur. — ^This is a very fine, late sum- 
mer apple, raised by John K. Comstock, of Duchess 
County, from a seed of the Esopus Spitzenburgh ; it resem- 
bles the yellow belle-fleur in form and color, and is de- 
scribed by Mr. Downing, Hortimiltiirist.^ vol. 3, as " decid- 
edly superior to Porter, William's favorite, or any summer 
apple of its season." Tree strong and upright. 

21. Sum^mer Sioeet Paradise. — A large fine, sweet 
apple, from Pennsylvania; round, greenish yellow, juicy, 
sweet and rich. — August and September. 

22. Sine-qua-non. — Medium size, greenish yellow ; flesh 
tender and fine flavored. Tree a slender, slow grower, 



282 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FEUITS. 

but bears well. Originated on Long Island by tne late 
William Prince. — Angnst. 

23. Summer Rose (Woolman's Early) .^Medium size, 
roundish, pale yellow, with a red cheek, tender and deli- 
cious; has a most beautiful waxen appearance. Tree 
rather a slow grower, but a good bearer. — Middle to end 
of August. 

24. Swnmer Queen. — Large, conical, striped and clouded 
with red ; rich and fine flavored. Tree grows rather irre- 
gular, with a large spreading head. — August. 

25. Sojys of Wine. — Medium size, conical, dark crim- 
son flesh stained with red, tender and delicious. Tlie tree 
is a fine grower and bearer, and the fruit remains a long 
time in use ; known as the " Pie Apj)le" about Oswego. 
— August and September. 

26. Summer Scarlet Peannain (Bell's Scarlet) English. 
■ — Medium to large, conical, mostly covered v/ith crimson ; 
flesh stained * with red ; tender and good. Trees grow 
freely, and bear young and abundantly. — Aug. and Sept. 

27. Williams' Favorite. — Large, oblong, red, rich and 
excellent, a moderate grower and good bearer; highly 
esteemed in Massachusetts, where it originated. — August. 

CLASS II. AUTUMN APPLES. 

28. Alexander (Emperor Alexander). — A very large 
and beautiful deep red apple, with a light bloom. Tree 
spreading, vigorous, and productive. Russian. — October 
and E"ovember. 

29. Autumn Strawberry (Late Strawberry). — Medium 
size, streaked light and dark red ; tender, crisp, juicy and 
fine. Tree vigorous, rather spreading, productive ; one 
of the best of its season. — September and October. Cul- 
tivated most in Western ISTew York ; origin unknowm. 

30. Autumn Swaar. — A large, roundish, flattened, yel- 



APPLES. 283 

low apple, generally known as " Sweet Swaar" in the 
orchards of Western ^ew York. The flesh is yellow, 
juicy, sweet and rich ; tree stout and spreading ; very 
good. 

31. Beauty of Kent. — A magnificent English apple, 
rivalling the Alexander in size and beauty, skin striped 
with dark red ; flesh tender but coarse, and indifierent 
in flavor ; excellent for cooking ; tree very vigorous and 
productive. 

32. Bailey Spice. — A medium-sized, roundish, yellow 
apple, wdth a sub-acid, brisk spicy flavor, introduced by 
Jno. W. Bailey, of Plattsburg, N. Y., where it originated ; 
tree of moderate growth, a great bearer, — fruit always 
fair ; little known yet. — Sej)tember and October. 

33. Cooper. — A very large, beautiful, and excellent 
Ohio apple, roundish, — skin yellow streaked with light 
red ; flesh tender, juicy, and agreeable. (Barrels of them 
were exhibited at the Ohio State Fair in 1850, and noth- 
ing in season equalled them. It is said to have been 
brought originally from New England.)— October to 
December. 

31:. Clyde Beauty. — Large, conical, pale yellow, striped 
and marbled with light red ; sub-acid, good ; introduced 
to us by Mr. Matthew Mackie, of Clyde, N. Y., w^here it 
originated. — October to December. 

35. Duchess of Oldenhurg. — A large beautiful Bussian 
apple, roundish, streaked red and yellow ; tender, juic ^ 
and ]3leasant ; tree a vigorous fine grower, and a young 
and abundant bearer. — September. 

36. Drap d''Oi\ or Cloth of Gold. — Large, golden yel- 
low ; flavor mild and agreeable ; tree spreading. — October. 

37. Dyer. — See Pomme Boyal. 

38. Fall Pippin. — Very large, roundish oblong, yel- 
low; flesh tender, rich, and delicious; tree vigorous, 



284: SELECT VARIETIES OF FEUITS. 

spreading, and a fine bearer; esteemed everywhere.— 
October to December. 

39. Fall Harvey. — A large, handsome yellow apple, 
resembling the Fall Pippin, but not so good. Essex 
county, Mass. — October and l^ovember. 

40. Flemer. — Medium size, oblong, pale yellow, with 
a red cheek ; tender and pleasant ; has a beautiful, smooth, 
waxy apj^earance ; tree erect, and a great bearer ; Ger- 
man. — September and October. 

41. Gravenstein. — A beautiful, large, striped, roundish 
apple of the first quality ; tree remarkably vigorous and 
erect in growth, and very productive. German. — Sej)tem- 
ber and October. 

4:2. Garden Royal. — Small, yellow, striped with red, 
sub-acid, rich, spicy, and delicious ; tree of moderate or 
slow growth ; Massachusetts. — September. First noticed 
by Manning in Hovey's Magazine. I^ot adajjted for the 
orchard either in tree or fruit. 

43. Haskell Sweet (Sassafras Sweet Cole). — Large, flat, 
greenish yellow, tender, sweet, and rich ; tree vigorous 
and productive. Massachusetts. — September and October. 

44. Hawthornden. — A beautiful Scotch apple, medium 
to large size, pale yellow and red ; trees have strong 
shoots, with low spreading heads ; constant and abundant 
bearer ; excellent for cooking. — September and October. 

45. Haioley (Dowse). — A magnificent, large pale yel- 
low apple, mild acid, tender, rich, and fine ; tree is a fair 
grower, and bears w^ell ; originated in Columbia county, 
I^. Y. ; has black spots in some seasons. — September and 
October. 

46. JeweWs Fine Bed. — An excellent E'ew England 
apple, medium size, tender and fine flavored ; a good 
grower and bearer, said to be well adapted to the North. 
— October and November. 

47. Jersey Sweet. — Medium size, strij)ed red and green, 



APPLES. 285 

tender, juicy, and sweet; a strong fine grower and good 
bearer ; succeeds well, and is highly esteemed in almost 
all parts of the country, both for table and cooking. — 
September and October. 

48. Kane (Cain). — K very beautiful, smooth crimson 
apple, of Delaware, resembling the Fameuse ; medium 
size, roundish, and good quality. — October. 

49. Loioell^ Orange^ Talloic Pippin (Queen Anne in 
Ohio). — Large, oblong, pale yellow, skin oily, quality 
excellent; tree a good grower and bearer. — September 
and October. 

50. Lyman'' s PumpMn Sioeet (Pound Sweet). — A large, 
round, green apple, fine for baking ; tree very vigorous, 
upright, and productive ; much grown in Western I^ew 
York. — October to December. 

51. Maiden? s Blush. — Medium size, flat, pale yellow, 
with a red cheek, beautiful, tender and pleasant, but not 
high flavored ; tree an erect and fine grower, and good 
beai^er. — September and October. 

52. Munson Sweet. — Medium to large, roundish flat- 
tened, pale yellow, with a blush on the sunny side ; ten- 
der, sweet, and good ; becomes rather dry as it matures ; 
very fine for baking, and very beautiful ; introduced to us 
by Mr. Jesse Storrs, of Marathon, IS". Y. It is said to be 
a native of Massachusetts ; tree a good, upright grower, 
and good bearer. — October to December. 

53. Northern Sweet. — A very beautiful and excellent 
sweet apple, introduced to us by Mr. Jonathan Batty, of 
Keeseville, K. Y., who presented it at the Pomological 
Convention at New York, in 1849. It is so much like 
the Munson that we once thought them identical. It is 
supposed to have originated in Chittenden county, Yt. 
The tree is a moderate grower, with drooping branches, 
and a great bearer. 

54. Porter. — Medium size to large, oblong, yellow 



286 . SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

flesh, fine, tender, and of excellent flavor ; tree a mode- 
rate grower ; very popular in Massachusetts. — September. 

55. Pomrne Royal^ or Dyer. — Large, roundish, yellow- 
ish white, with a brown tinge next the sun, crisp, juicy, 
and high flavored ; tree a fair grower and abundant 
bearer. — -September and October. 

^^. P'mn]jkin Sweet., Punvpkin Pusset. — A very large, 
round, yellowish russet apple, very sweet and rich ; tree 
a strong, rapid grower, with a spreading head ; valuable. 
— October and November. 

57. President. — Large and beautiful, yellow, with a red 
cheek, roundish, flattened, of good quality, bears most abun- 
dantly. We obtained it from Columbus, Ohio. — October. 

58. Pepvhlicarh Pippin, — Large, roundish, striped, sub- 
acid ; described by Dr. Brinkle, in the Horticulturist, as 
Laving a peculiar walnut flavor ; " quality InTo. 1." The 
tree is a vigorous grower and regular bearer, " but does 
not bear so well on a limestone soil." September to Octo- 
ber, and fit for cooking in July. Originated in Lycoming 
county, Pa. 

59. St. Laicrence. — Large, round, streaked red and 
greenish yellow ; a very beautiful, productive, and pojDU- 
lar market apple. Originated in Montreal, Canada. — 
October. 

60. Spice Sweet. — Large, pale yellow, with a blush on 
the sunny side, quite waxen and beautiful, tender, sweet, 
and fine ; a great bearer. — September. 

61. Smoke-IIonse. — This is a fine apple, originated in 
Lancaster county. Pa. Rather large, flat, striped ; tree is 
a rapid grower, with spreading branches; flesh crisp, 
juicy, and fine flavored. October. Xot much dissemi- 
nated yet. 

62. Sawyer Sweet. — Medium size, conical, greenish, 
with a blush on the exposed side ; tender, sweet, and 
good ; the tree is a free upright grower, and a good 



APPLES. 287 

bearer. October and November. Described by Kenrick, 
from whom we obtained it. 

63. Sujperlj Sweet. — Large, roundish, yellow and red ; 
flesh tender, juicy, rich flavored ; tree is a good grower 
and bearer; native of Massachusetts, and succeeds well 
in Maine. Described by Cole, who sent it to us. — Sep- 
tember and October. 

64. Summer Sweet Paradise. — Large, roundish, flat- 
tened, pale green, marked with gray dots ; flesh tender, 
sweet, and rich ; the tree is very productive, and bears 
young. Originated at Columbia, Pa. ; one of the best 
dessert varieties of its season. — September and October. 

65. Tompkins. — A large and beautiful apple, from 
Tompkins county, N. Y., where it is supposed to have 
originated. It is of a golden yellow color at maturity ; 
flesh sub-acid, tender, and rich ; tree productive. October 
and November. Described in the Horticulturist in 1847. 

%^. Toicne. — Large, flat, striped ; flesh tender, juicy, 
mild, and pleasant ; ripens with the Gravenstein, and is 
nearly as good with us ; obtained from Kenrick. 

CLASS W. ^APPLES FOR ORNAMENT OR PRESERVING. 

67. Bed Siberian Oral. — Small, about an inch in diam- 
eter, yellow, with scarlet cheek ; beautiful ; tree is vigor- 
ous and erect ; bears when tw^o or three years old. — Sep- 
tember and October. 

68. Large Bed Siberian Crab. — Kearly twdce as large 
as the above, but similar in appearance and quality ; trees 
grow large. — September and October. 

69. Yellow Siberian Grab. — Nearly as large as the last, 
and of a beautiful golden yellow. 

70. Large Yellow Crab. — Larger than any of the pre- 
ceding, pale yellow, with tint of red in the sun ; tree a 
vigorous and rapid grower. 



288 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FKUITS. 

Yl. Double Flowering Chinese. — A beautiful orna- 
niental tree, producing large clusters of semi-double rose 
colored blossoms. 



CLASS III. WINTER APPLES. 

Y2. Baldwin (Steele's Eed Winter, in Western ISTew 
York). — A large, fair, bright, red apple, roundish, in- 
clining to oblong ; flesh crisp, juicy, and pleasant ; not 
very line grained. Tree is a vigorous, rajjid grower, with 
curved erect branches, and forms a reguhir open head in 
the orchard ; bears abundantly ; originated in Massachu- 
setts, where it is one of the most popular and profitable 
winter fruits for market. It also succeeds well through- 
out Kew York, and especially in the Genesee Yalley ; 
variable in the south and west. 

Y3. Baily Sweet (Patterson Sweet). — ^A magnificent 
Bweet apple of the largest size, originated in Wyoming 
county, New York ; brought to our notice a few years 
ago, by E. A. McKay, Esq., of IN'aples, ]N"ew York ; color 
deep reddish crimson ; flesh tender, sweet, juicy, and 
rich ; tree vigorous, erect, and productive. — October to 
January. 

T4. Bourrassa. — Large, conical, reddish russet, rich 
and high-flavored, but rather dry; supposed to have 
originated in Lower Canada ; a very valuable apple for 
the high northern latitudes ; succeeds well in western 
New York. — October to March. 

Y5. Blue Pearmain. — Yery large, roundish, purplish 
red, clouded, covered with bloom ; flesh sub-acid, juicy, 
and good ; tree is a vigorous grower, with large foliage, 
and a spreading head ; bears moderately ; very popular 
in the markets on account of its size and beauty. — Octo- 
ber to January. 

Y6. Bell-flower^ Yellow. — Mr. Downing follows Thomp- 



APPLES. 289 

son in calling this Belle-fletir^ which is, no doubt, correct, 
this being the French term for handsome flower, while 
om- word means bell-shaped flower ; but having been de- 
scribed as bell-flower by the older authors, and universally 
known and called so in this country, it cannot be changed. 
The fruit is large^ oblong, slightly conical, yellow, with a 
blush on the sunny side ; flesh crisp, juicy, pretty acid, 
and rich ; tree is a rapid grower, with spreading and 
drooping branches, very productive ; originated in Xew 
Jersey ; succeeds well throughout a large portion of the 
country. — November to April. 

77. Belmont (Gate). — A beautiful and excellent aj^ple 
of Ohio ; large, roundish, inclining to conical ; yellow, 
with a tinge of red on one side ; sub-acid, juicy, and fine ; 
succeeds well in IS'ew York and northern Ohio, but ig 
variable at Cincinnati and further south. — October to 
February. Described by Mr . Downing as " Waxen," he 
supposing it to be identical with that of Coxe. This is 
yet in doubt. 

78. Belle et Bonne. — ^This is a native of Connecticut ; a 
tree at East Hartford, forty years old, measures one hun- 
dred and twenty feet in circumference, and bears forty to 
fifty bushels a year. Mr, Downing describes it as " a very 
large, showy, yellow apple, of the fall pippin class ;" the 
tree forms a beautiful symmetrical head, and bears abmi- 
dantly. — October to January. Keep all w^inter. There 
is an apple by this name cultivated about Eochester, 
large, showy, striped, of fair quality, ripens in September. 

79. Broadwell. — A fine, new, sweet apple, from Ohio ; 
large, greenish yellow, tender, sweet, and excellent ; 
keeps till spring. 

80. Carthouse (Gilpin, Eed Eomanite).— Medium size, 
round, striped, sub-acid, and agreeable ; cultivated rather 
extensively in some parts of the south, where it is es- 

1.3 



290 SELECT VAKIETIES OF FRUITS. 

teemed for its prodnctiveness and good keeping qualities. 
It is also grown mncli for cider. — February to May. 

81. Danvers' Winter Sweet. — Medium size, roundish, 
slightly conical ; greenish yellow, with a brown tinge on 
the sunny side ; flesh yellowish, crisp, juicy, and rich ; 
tree very productive, spreading; one of the best sweet 
apples ; origin, Danvers, Massachusetts ; keeps till April. 

82. Dominie. — Medium size, flat, greenish yellow, 
streaked with red, sub-acid, juicy, and high flavored. — 
JSTovember to April. Cultivated rather extensively in the 
orchards on the Hudson ; resembles the Rambo, and like 
it succeeds well in the west and south. 

83. Dutch Mignonne. — A very large, beautiful, and ex 
cellent apple ; a native of Holland ; orange, marked with 
russet and faint streaks of red ; fine flavored ; tree erect, 
and good bearer. — November to March. 

84. Fameuse. — Medium size, deep crimson, flesh snowy 
white, tender, and delicious ; tree vigorous, with dark 
wood ; a beautiful and fine early winter fruit ; succeeds 
particularly well in the north. — November, December, 
January; September, and October, in Ohio and farther 
south. Native of Canada. 

85. Fallawater. — From Columbia, Pennsylvania ; me- 
dium size, slightly conical, greenish yellow, with a dull 
blush on the sunny side ; flesh juicy, sub-acid, and good ; 
productive. 

86. Fort Miami. — A new variety from Ohio. Said to 
be a rich, high-flavored, good keeper. 

87. Green Sweeting. — Medium size, greenish, tender, 
sweet, and spicy ; one of the very best long-keeping 
sweet apples ; tree a moderate grower. — November to 
May. 

88. Hubhardson Nonsuch. — Large, striped yellow and 
red, tender, juicy, and fine, strong grower and great 
bearer ; native of Massachusetts. — November to January. 



APPLES. 291 

89. Hooker. — A large fine apple, introduced to Ro- 
chester by Judge E. B. Strong, from Connecticnt ; color 
greenish yellow, striped, and covered with dark red in the 
sun ; flesh tender, juicy, and fine-flavorad ; tree very pro- 
ductive. — IS^ovember to January. 

90. Hartford Sweeting (Spencer Sweeting).^A native 
of Hartford, Connecticut ; medium size, flat, striped ; flesh 
juicy, tender, and rich ; keeps till late in sj)ring ; tree 
very productive ; a valuable orchard variety. 

91. Jmiatlian. — Medium, size, stri2:)ed red and yellow ; 
flesh tender, juicy, and rich, wdth much of the Sj)itzen- 
bm*g character ; shoots light-colored, slender, and spread- 
ing ; very productive ; a native of Kingston, ISTew York. 
— ^N^ovember to April. 

92. King.— A. large handsome fruit, striped red and 
yellow, of fair but not first-rate quality ; tree remarkably 
vigorous and fruitful. — October to January. 

93. Lady Apple., Portirae d^Api. — A beautiful little 
dessert fruit, flat, pale yellow, with a brilliant red cheek ; 
flesh crisp, juicy, and pleasant ; the tree forms a dense, 
erect head, and bears large crojjs of fruit in clusters ; the 
fruit sells for the highest price in IS'ew York, London, and 
Paris. — ]N"ovember to May. There are four or five varie- 
ties of these described by authors, but this is the best. 

94. Ladies' Svjeet- — Large, roundish, green, and red, 
nearly quite red in the sun ; sweet, sprightly, and per- 
fumed ; shoots slender but erect ; a good bearer ; origin- 
ated near Newburg, Kew York ; one of the best winter 
sweet apples. — November to May. 

95. Limher Tioig (James Eiver). — A large, dull, red 
apple ; second rate in quality, but keeps till June or July, 
on account of which chiefly it is cultivated at the south 
and west ; the tree has weak, pendulous branches, but is 
exceedingly hardy, and bears immense crops. 

96. Mother. — Large, red ; flesh very tender, rich, and 



W2 SELECT VAKIETIES OF FRUITS. 

aromatic ; tree a good bearer ; succeeds well in the north ; 
supposed to have originated in Worcester county, Massa- 
chusetts. — ^November to January. 

97. Melon (Koi'ton's). — Large, pale, whitish yellow and 
yermillion red ; flesh tender, juicy, almost melting, and 
spicy ; a most beautiful and delicious fruit ; originated in 
East Bloomfield, Kew York ; the tree is rather a slow 
grower, but a good bearer ; retains its freshness from 
October to Aj)ril. 

98. McLellan (Martin). — Large, roundish, yellow, strip- 
ed with red ; flesh fine grained, mild, tender, and plea- 
sant ; tree productive ; originated in Woodstock, Connec- 
ticut, where it is highly esteemed. Mr. Downing con- 
siders it " worthy of a place in every small collection, and 
valuable for the orchard." 

99. Minister. — A large, showy, oblong, striped apple, 
fine-grained and pleasant, sub-acid. Mr. Manning con- 
sidered it one of the finest apples Massachusetts pro- 
duced ; with us it is about second-rate ; trees exceedingly 
productive. — October to January. 

100. Monmoutli Pippin (Red Cheeked Pippin). — A 
large, showy, good apple, of I^ew Jersey, somewhat cul- 
tivated, and succeeds well in western New i'ork, round- 
ish, oblong, greenish yellow, with a deep red cheek ; 
flesh rather compact, sub-acid, and agreeable ; keeps well 
till March or April; tree upright, vigorous, and pro- 
ductive. 

101. Northern Spy. — Large, striped, and quite covered 
on the sunny side with dark crimson, and delicately 
coated with bloom ; flesh juicy, rich, highly aromatic, re- 
taining its freshness of flavor and appearance till July ; 
the tree is a remarkably rapid, fine, erect grower, and a 
great bearer ; like all trees of the same habit, it requires 
good culture, and an occasional thinning out of the 
branches, to admit the sun and air fully to the fruit. It 



APPLES. 29S 

is one of the largest, most beautiful, and excellent long- 
keeping apples yet known ; originated in Ontario county, 
'New York, and introduced a few years ago. Mr. Cole 
says it is found to be very hardy as far north as Maine. 

102. Newtown Pippin. — One of the most celebrated 
of American apples, on account of its long-keej)ing and 
excellent qualities, and the high price it commands 
abroad ; but its success is confined to certain districts and 
soils. It attains its greatest perfection on Long Island, 
and on the Hudson. In western Kew York and New 
England, it rarely succeeds well. It requires rich and 
high culture, and it is said a large suj^ply of lime ; tree a 
slow, feeble grower, with rough bark. — I^Tovember to 
June. 

103. Ortley (Detroit, White Bellilower, Warren Pippin, 
etc., of the West, Woolman's Long, etc., etc.). — Large, 
roundish, slightly oblong, pale yellow ; flesh sub-acid, 
sprightly and fine ; succeeds well in E"ew Jersey, and in 
the west ; origin, New Jersey. 

104. Peclc's Pleasant. — Large, pale yellow, with a 
brown cheek, very smooth and fair ; flesh firm and rich, 
approaching the flavor of a Newtown pippin ; tree erect 
and a fine bearer. — November to April. 

105. Pomme Grise. — Small, greyish russet, very rich, 
and high-flavored ; tree a moderate grower, but a good 
bearer ; very valuable in the north ; is frequently shipped 
from Canada to England. — November to April. 

106. Pichnan (Pickman Pippin). — Medium to large, 
roundish, slightly flattened, of a beautiful clear straw 
color ; sub-acid and rich ; fine for cooking. — November to 
February. Supposed to be a native of Massachusetts. 

107. Pryor^s Red. — ^A very popular and excellent fruit 
in Ohio and Kentucky ; somewhat similar to the Bourassa 
in color and flavor ; reddish or brownish russet ; rather 
dry, but rich and high-flavored; rather late and shy 



294 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FEUITS. 

bearer. — December to February. Cultivated extensively 
for the 'New Orleans market. 

108. jPMllip^s Sweeting. — A new Ohio apple, large, 
conical, yellow and red ; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, and 
good. Early winter. 

109. JSamho (Komanite, Seek-I^o-Farther). — Good and 
popular over a greater extent of country than any other 
variety ; medium size, round, greenish, yellow, striped 
with red ; flesh exceedingly tender, juicy, and pleasant ; 
tree vigorous, erect, and very productive ; ripens in the 
autumn at the south and west, but keeps here till Feb- 
ruary. 

110. Rome Beauty. — A large and very beautiful new 
apple of Ohio ; we saw it at Cincinnati in 1850 ; it is 
roundish or very slightly conical, pale yellow, mostly 
covered with bright red ; flesh not very fine, but tender, 
juicy, and good ; early winter. It will undoubtedly be 
valuable for the orchard. 

111. JRawWs Jannet (Rawle's Janneting, Never-fail, 
Eockremain, &c.). — ^The most popular and valuable 
orchard fruit of Kentucky. An experienced orchardist of 
that State, Mr. Sanders, of Carrol county, who has known 
it for fifty years., says that " 30 to 40 per cent, of every 
orchard in Kentucky should be planted with it." It blos- 
soms two weeks later than most other varieties, and there- 
fore always escapes spring frosts. It is medium to small, 
round, greenish streaked, and clouded with dull red; flesh 
compact, crisp, juicy and vinous. — Keeps till June or 
July. 

112. Reinette., Canada. — Very large, flattened, ribbed, 
dull yellow, flesh firm, juicy and rich; tree a strong 
grower and good bearer. In France it is considered the 
largest and best apple, and proves excellent here ; it keeps 
better for being picked early. — ^N'ovember to March. 

113. Bed Canada (Old None-such of Massachusetts). — 



APPLES. 295 

Medium size, red, with white dots, flesh fine, rich, sub-acid 
and delicious; tree a slender grower; one of the best of 
apples. — November to May. 

114. Rhode Island Greening. — Every where well known 
and popular ; tree spreading and vigorous, always more 
or less crooked in the nursery ; a great and constant bearer 
in nearly ail soils and situations ; fruit rather acid, but 
excellent for dessert or cooking ; towards the south it ripens 
in the fall, but in the north keeps well till March or April. 

115. Russet Golden. — Medium size, dull russet, with a 
tinge of red on the exposed side ; flesh greenish, crisp, 
juicy and high flavored ; tree a fine grower, spreading 
with light colored speckled shoots, by which it is easily 
known ; bears well ; popular and extensively grown in 
"Western i^ew York. — JSTovember to April. 

116. Russet Golden American (Bullock's Pippin, 
Sheep's Nose). — Medium size to small, conical, slightly 
russeted ; flesh remarkably tender, juicy and rich ; of the 
finest quality ; origin, New Jersey, and succeeds well in 
the west and south. Tree an uj^right, compact, but not 
rapid grower. 

117. Russet Encjlisli (Poughkeepsie Eusset). — Medium 
size, slightly conical, greenish yellow, mostly covered 
with russet. Tree is remarkably stout and erect, bears 
large crops, and the fruit will keep a year ; quality good ; 
very profitable. 

118. Russet^ Roxhury or ^6><9^wz,— Medium size to large, 
surface rough, greenish, covered with russet, flavor indif- 
ferent ; tree vigorous, spreading, and a great bearer; keeps 
till June. Its great popularity is owing to its productive- 
ness and long-keeping. 

119. Suxiar. — Large, pale lemon yellow, with dark dots, 
flesh tender, rich and spicy ; tree a moderate grower, 
with dark shoots and large grey buds ; with good cultm-e 
it is one of the very best of apples. — November to May. 



296 SELECT VARIETIES OF FEUITS. 

120. Seeh-no-further (Westfield). — Meclinm to large, 
striped with dull red, and slightly russeted ; flesh tender, 
rich and excellent; tree a good grower and bearer, and 
fruit always fair. — ^November to February. 

121. Spitzenhurgli Esopus. — Large, deep red, with grey 
sj)ots, and delicately coated with bloom, flesh yellow, 
crisp, rich and excellent ; tree rather a feeble, slow, spread- 
ing grower, and moderate bearer ; esteemed in this State 
as one of the very best. — IN^ovember to April. 

Spitzenburgh J^ewtoicn. — From the little village of New- 
town, Long Island ; a handsome, round, dark red apple, 
marked with brown dots; flesh yellow, firm, mild and 
pleasant. — ^November to February. This was exhibited 
as " Yandervere" in nearly all the western collections at 
the Cincinnati Convention. 

123. Tallman Sweeting. — Medium size, pale whitish 
yellow, slightly tinged with red ; flesh firm, rich and very 
sweet; excellent for cooking; tree vigorous, upright and 
very productive. — ^November to April. 

124. Twenty Ounce (Cayuga Red Streak). — A very 
large, showy, striped apple, of fair quality ; tree an upright, 
compact grower, and fine bearer ; excellent for baking, 
and of pleasant fiavor, though not rich ; one of the best 
very large apples, and popular in the markets. — October 
to January. 

125. Teivhsbtiry W{7iter Blush. — Small, yellow^, with a 
red cheek, flesh fimi, juicy, and fine flavored ; a remark- 
ably long keeper ; tree a rapid, erect grower ; suits the 
south best, as it requires a long season to manure it ; origin, 
New Jersey. — January to July. 

126. Vandevere. — Medium size, yellow, striped with 
red, and becoming deep crimson next the sun, flesh yel- 
low, rich and fine; tree a fair grower and good bearer; 
succeeds best on light, warm, dry soils. — October to March. 

12T. Wagener. — Medium, to large size, deep red in the 



APPLES. 297 

8U11 ; flesh firm, sub-acicl and excellent ; tree very produc- 
tive. A new and excellent variety, recently introduced 
from Penn Yan, Yates County, New York.— December 
to May. 

128. Winter Pecmnain. — Medium size, dull red stripes, 
on a yellowisli ground, flesh tender, pleasant and aro- 
matic ; a moderate grower and bearer, best on warm soil. 
— ^J^ovember and March. 

129. Willow Tioig. — A western variety, particularly 
valuable for its productiveness and long keeping ; shoots 
very slender, hence its name. 

130. WelW Sweeting. — A fine early winter sweet apple, 
from Kewburgh, ]S'ew York. Medium size, roundish, 
green, flesh tender, sprightly and rich. Tree a stout, up- 
right grower and good bearer. — November to January. 

131. Wine Sap. — Medium size, roundish, slightly coni- 
cal, deep red ; flesh very firm and crisp, with a sub-acid 
flavor. Tree very productive ; fine for cider, for which it 
has been extensively grown. — November to April. 

132. Wine Apple (Hay's Winter). — Large, roundish, 
slightly flattened, yellow striped, and clouded wdth bright 
red ; flesh yellow, juicy, crisp and pleasant. A native of 
Delaware ; succeeds well in many parts of the country. 

133. White Winter Calville.— This is a celebrated 
French apple, and is one of the finest dessert varieties to 
be found in their markets at the present day. It is large, 
flat, ribbed, pale yellow, with a bright red cheek ; flavor 
pleasant but not rich. Succeeds well in Canada. — No- 
vember to March. 

SMALL SELECT LISTS OF APPLES. 

For Western New York the following are "unimpeach- 
able :" 

Nos. 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 23, 29, 38, 41, 44, 45, 47, 



29S SELECT VARIETIES OF FRTJITS. 

55, 72, 73, 76, 81, 83, 84, 87, 93, 97, 101, 105, 109, 113, 
114, 119, 121, 127. 

Twenty Choice Garden Yarieties. — 2, 9, 10, 15, 23, 29, 
38, 41, 47, 50, 55, 84, 93, 97, 101,105, 113,119,121,127. 

Twenty 'very large and heautiful sorts for Dwarfs. — 2, 
4, 23, 31, 35, 38, 27, 28, 41, 44, 45, 51, 59, 72, 73, 83, 101, 
109, 127, 133. 

Yarieties that succeed well in the south and west — • 
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 23, 33, 38, 41, 47, 51, 61, 
76, 79, 80, 82, 84, 86, 95, 102, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 
111, 114, 116, 118, 126, 129, 132. 

The " "Western Horticultural Review" suggests the fol- 
lowing for an orchard of one thousand trees at St. Louis. 

Two hundred Eawle's Jannet ; two hundred Pryor's Red ; 
two hundred N^ewtown pippin ; fifty golden russet (Ame- 
rican, no doubt) ; thirtj-five N^ewton Spitzenburgh ; fifteen 
fall pippin ; twenty-five each, yellow and white bell- 
flower, early strawberry, early harvest, Benoni, "Williams' 
favorite, Bohanan, and Gravenstein, Cooper, Rome Beauty, 
Rambo, Belmont, and Fameuse ; one hundred Carthouse 
or Gilpin, Michael Henry and Smith's Cider ; fifty " any 
others not rejected." 

Samuel Walker, Esq., President of the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, one of the most experienced and 
critical judges of fruits in America, gives, in " Hovey's 
Magazine, vol. xv., 1849, the following list as being the 
best-suited to the meridian of I^ew England, ranked ac- 
cording to merit thus : ISTos. 114, 41, 72, 8 or 9, 113, 54, 
99, 123, 4, 118, 81, 54. 88, 38, 84, 1, 3, 2, 39, 27, 94, 91, 
104, 121. 



PEAES. 299 



Section 2. — Select Peaes. 



CLASS I. SUMMER PEAES. 



1. Ainire Joannet (St. John's). — Eetained only on ac- 
count of its earliness, and not recommended for small 
collections ; the tree is a fine grower on both pear and 
quince, and a profuse bearer; fruit small, pale yellow, 
and sweet, soon mealy. — Twentieth to last of July. For- 
eign. 

' 2. Beau Present cVArtois. — A good, juicy, half melt- 
ing j^ear, medium size ; tree very vigorous and productive 
on the quince. — September. Foreign. 

3. Bloodgood. — An American pear of the first quality; 
medium size, buttery, melting, and rich ; tree is a fair 
grower ; succeeds w^ell, and makes a fine pyramid on the 
quince. — August. 

4. Bartlett (William's Bonchretien). — One of the most 
popular pears ; large, buttery, and melting, with a rich 
musky flavor ; tree a fair, erect grower ; bears young and 
abundantly, both on pear and quince ; the fruit ri]3ens 
perfectly in the house, if gathered even two or three 
weeks before its time of ripening ; this prolongs its sea- 
son. — Last of September. 

5. Canandaigua. — So named by the Congress Fruit 
Growers, in 1849 ; previously called " Catharine P It is, 
in appearance, very similar to the Bartlett, nearly as 
large and as good ; melting and fine flavored ; tree is an 
upright, vigorous grower on both pear and quince, and 
very productive. In season middle of September. 

6. Dearborn'' s Seedling. — Eather below medium size, 
pale yellow, melting and delicious ; trQQ a rapid, fine 
grower, both on pear and quince, and bears young and 
profusely ; one of the very best early summer pears, rip'^ 



300 SELECT YAEIETIES OF FKUITS. 

immediately after the Blooclgood. — About the last of 
August. 

7. Doyenne cPEte (Summer Doyenne). — A beautiful 
little melting sweet pear ; tree a fine grower and bearer, 
and succeeds well on the quince. — August. 

8. Edinarcfs Henrietta. — A medium-sized, greenish 
pear, melting, juicy, and sprightly; tree very productive; 
originated at New Haven, Conn. — September. ISTot much 
disseminated. 

9. Jargonelle^ English. — A good old variety, large 
size, flesh rather coarse, but juicy and pleasant ; should 
be ripened in the house. The tree is a very strong 
grower, with purplish spreading shoots, and large foliage 
and flowers. It makes a fine prolific pyramid on the 
quince, but is not recommended for small collections. — 
Beginning of August. 

10. Leeches Kingsessing. — A new pear recently intro- 
duced by Dr. Brinkle, of Philadelphia. It is described 
as being large, of a " sea-green" color, and '' rich, buttery, 
and delicately flavored ;" ripe last of August. It proves 
with us a strong grower, and will make a handsome pyra- 
mid on the quince. 

11. Madeleine. — This is the earliest good pear we have ; 
size medium, flesh melting, sweet and delicate ; tree a fair 
grower, and good, early bearer on both pear and quince. 

12. Striped Madeleine — is a variety, with wood and 
fruit striped with green, yellow and red, of same quality 
and season as the preceding. 

13. Muscadine. — Medium size, melting, musky flavored 
and good. The tree has vigorous dark shoots, similar to 
Jargonelle ; does not appear to succeed weU on the 
quince. — Early in September. 

14. Moyamensing (Smith's). — Originated in Philadel- 
phia ; large size, buttery, melting, and fine flavored; 
decays very soon after ripening ; tree is a fair grower on 



PEAKS. 801 

both pear and quince ; ripens at Philadelphia from the 
middle of July till August ; north proportionably later. 

15. Muscat Hobert. — A small, pale yellow, half-melting 
fruit, very juicy and sweet ; tree hardy, productive, and 
vigorous, leaves large and flat, shoots quite yellowish ; 
bears abundant crops on the quince ; not so good as 
Madeleine or Bloodgood. 

16. OWs Seedling. — A small, yellow, delicious, high 
flavored pear ; originated near Philadelphia, and brought 
to notice by Dr. Brinkle, who considers it nearly as good 
as the Seckel. — August and September. 

17. OsbancVs Summer. — A medium sized, excellent 
fruit, half-melting, mild, and pleasant flavored ; tree a 
fair, erect grower, on both pear and quince, and very pro- 
ductive ; ripens here early part of August ; origin, "Wajme 
county, N. Y. ; recently introduced. 

18. Rousselet Stuttgart. — Medium size or rather small, 
greenish brown, half-melting, juicy, and fine flavored ; 
tree a fine grower, and very productive on both pear and 
quince. German. — August and September. 

19. Rostiezcr. — Medium size, yellowish green, with a 
brown cheek ; flesh juicy, sweet, and high flavored ; the 
tree is vigorous, with dark-colored shoots ; succeeds well 
on the quince ; of German origin, and not long introduced 
here, but so far has proved first-rate in its season. — First 
of Ssj^tember. 

20. Summer Franc Real. — Medium size, juicy, melting, 
and rich ; tree very hardy, and a stout, fine grower and 
good bearer on both pear and quince ; makes a beautiful 
pyramid ; foliage and young shoots look mealy, being 
covered with a light down ; fruit should always be ripened 
in the house.— End of August and beginning of Sep- 
tember. 

21. Skinless (Sanspeau of the French).— Eather small 
pyriform, pale yellow, with a tinge of red on the sunny 



302 SELECT YAEIETIES OF TEUITS. 

side ; melting, juicy, and sweet ; tree a rapid, erect 
grower, and very productive. — August. 

22. Tyson. — Rather above medium size, melting, juicy, 
sweet, and fine flavored; tree very vigorous and rapid 
grower, both on quince and pear ; one of the finest summer 
varieties ; origin, Jenkintown, Pa. — September. 

CLASS n. AIJTIJMK PEAES. 

23. Andrews (Amory or Gibson). — Rather above me- 
dium size, pyi'amidal, yellow, with a dull red cheek ; juicy, 
melting, and good ; tree a fair grower, and a good bearer ; 
very popular in Boston. September and October. Native 
of Dorchester, Mass. 

24. Bleeker's Meadow. — Medium size, round, half-melt- 
ing ; second rate ; but the tree is exceeding hardy and 
vigorous, and bears enormous cro23s ; fine for stewing, etc. 
— October. 

25. Buffum. — Yery similar to the White Doyenne, and 
nearly as good ; buttery, sweet, and fine flavored ; tree a 
remarkably vigorous, upright grower, with light reddish 
brown shoots ; succeeds well on the quince. — Last of Sep- 
tember. 

26. Beurre^ Brotim. — A very fine old fruit ; not well 
spoken of in ]^ew England, but does well in this State ; 
fruit medium size to large, melting, very juicy, with a 
sprightly vinous flavor. It is rather a tardy bearer and 
poor grower on the pear, but on the quince it grows w^ell 
and makes a fine prolific pyramid. It is inclined to over- 
bear, and should be pnined close, to maintain its vigor. 

27. Beurre^ Bosc. — A large and beautiful pear, melting 
or nearly so, high flavored and delicious ; a good grower 
on pear, but does not succeed on the quince, except double 
worked. — September and October. 

28. Beurre d''Amcdis Pcmaclie. — In quality similar to 



PEARS. 303 

Kumber 37, but the wood and fruit curiously striped 
with red and yellow, like the strij)ed Madeleine and 
Doyenne. 

29. Beurre cVAnjou. — A large fine pear, buttery and 
melting, with sprightly vinous flavor ; tree a fine grower 
on both pear and quince. — October and November. For- 
eign ; first imported by Col. Wilder. 

30. Beurre Cwpiau7nont. — Medium size, yellow, with a 
red cheek ; melting, sweet, and rich, but somewhat vari- 
able ; a good grower and abundant bearer ; makes a 
beautiful productive pyramid on the quince. — October. 

31. Beurre Diel. — One of the largest pears, buttery, 
rich, and fine ; sometimes gritty at the core on j)ear stock ^ 
invariably first-rate on the quince ; growth very strong 
and rapid, with large roundish leaves. — October and [N'o- 
vember ; and if picked early and ripened gradually in the 
house, may be kept to December. 

32. Beurre^ Golden of Bilboa. — A large and beautiful 
pear of the first quality, buttery and melting, with a ricli 
sprightly flavor ; a strong, upright, handsome grower ; 
succeeds particularly well on the quince. — September and 
October. 

33. Bergaraotte Cadette (Beurre Beauchamps). — A me- 
dium size, oval, melting rich pear ; tree a fine grower, and 
very prolific both on j)ear and quince ; makes a fine pyra- 
mid. — Ripe in November, and keeps well till December. 

3-i. Bergamot Gcmsels. — Medium to large size, round- 
ish, skin rough, brown; flesh melting, juicy, rich, and 
high flavored ; rather a poor grower, with slender spread- 
ing branches and gray leaves ; a tardy bearer, does not 
succeed on the quince. — October. 

35. Bezi de Montigny. — A very fair, medium-sized 
fruit, melting and sweet, with a pleasant, musky flavor ; 
very vigorous and productive ; makes a fine fruitful i^yra- 



304: SELECT YAEIETIES OF FEriTS. 

mid on the quince, nearly as good as White Doyenne. — 
October. 

36. Belle Lucrative (Fondante d'Automne). — Medium 
size, melting and delicious ; a fair, ujDright grower ; makes 
a beautiful pyramid on the quince, and bears early and 
abundantly ; first quality in all respects. — September and 
October. 

37. Beurre d^Amalis. — A large, melting, fine pear, 
resembling the Brown Beurre, and with the same high 
vinous flavor ; a strong grower, and most abundant bearer 
on the quince. — September and October. 

38. Comte de Lamy. — A medium-sized, melting, fine 
flavored fruit ; a good grower ; makes a fine pyramid on 
the quince. — October. 

39. Ouslimg. — Medium size, oblong, pale green, brown- 
ish next the sun ; juicy, melting, and delicious ; tree very 
productive ; one of the very best Massachusetts varieties. 
— September. 

40. Dunmore (Knight's). — A large, fine j)ear, with a 
sprightly sub-acid flavor like the Brown Beurre ; rather 
variable ; sometimes first-rate — September. 

41. Dix. — A large, fine pear, melting, juicy, and rich ; 
a fair grower ; slender, yellowish shoots ; succeeds on the 
quince double worked, but not otherwise. — October. Ori- 
gin, Boston. 

42 Duchesse d^Angouleme. — The largest of all our 
good pears ; it attains its highest perfection on the quince, 
and is a beautiful, vigorous tree ; profitable for market. — 
October and ^November. 

43. DucJi,esse d'' Orleans. — A new, large, and delicious 
pear, " with the flavor of GanselPs Bergamot ;" succeeds 
well on the quince, and bears quite young ; has proved 
fine at Boston, but not so good with us. — October. 

44. Doyenne Boussoch. — A new, large, delicious pear, 



PEAES. 305 

like a very large White Doyenne ; tree a strong, rapid 
grower ; succeeds well on the quince. — October. 

45. Doyenne White. — A well known and universally 
esteemed variety of the highest excellence ; growing and 
bearing equally well on both pear and quince ; young 
trees on the quince are inclined to bear too much, on this 
account the fruit requires thinning, and the tree pretty 
close pruning, to keep up a vigorous growth. — October and 
November. 

46. Doyenne Gray. — Similar in quality to the preced 
ing ; fruit of a reddish russet color ; tree not quite so 
strong a grower. 

4Y. Doyenne Panadie (Striped Doyenne). — Similar in 
character to the White ; wood and fruit are curiously 
striped. 

48. Excellentissima. — A nqyj beautiful and excellent 
new Belgian variety, as large as the Bartlett ; oblong, 
pyriform, yellow, with a tinge of red in the sun ; buttery, 
melting, and rich. — October. It must become a most 
popular variety. 

49. Forelle or Trout Pear. — A beautiful German pear, 
finely speckled, buttery, melting and rich ; succeeds well 
on the quince; bears early and. profusely. — JSTovember. 

50. Flemish Beauty. — A large, beautiful, melting, rich 
pear; tree vigorous and fruitful: has not succeeded well 
on the quince with us yet. — September and October. 

51. Frederick of Wurtemberg. — A large and beautiful 
pear, sometimes first-rate, and often insipid ; a vigorous 
grower both on pear and quince, and an early good bearer. 
— September. 

52. Fulton. — A native pear, round and russety, melt- 
ing, rich and excellent, hardy and vigorous; succeeds 
well in the north where many others are tender. — October 
and I^ovember. 

58. Henry IV. (We have sent out some trees of this 



306 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FRUITS. 

variety, imported as " Ananas"). — A medium sized, melt- 
ing, delicious pear, of a dull greenish color; a free stout 
grower, and a most profuse bearer; succeeds well on the 
quince ; should be ripened in the house. — September. 

54. Heathcote. — A buttery, melting, fine-flavored pear, 
about the size of White Doyenne, hardy and productive. 
■ — September. Originated in the vicinity of Boston. 

55. Howell. — A very good and very handsome variety, 
originated at New Haven, Conn. Large or medium, obo- 
vate, inclining to pyramidal, lemon yellow tinged, with 
red in the sun ; melting, juicy and vinous, rather coarse. 
Tree vigorous, branches rather spreading and drooping. — 
September and October. 

56. Hanners (Hannas). — A native of Boston or vicinity ; 
of medium size, resemblino; the Cushino^, with somewhat 
the flavor of AVhite Doyenne. — September. 

57. Henkel. — Medium size, roundish obovate, yellow, 
slightly russeted; buttery, melting and fine. One of the 
very best Belgian varieties. — IN^ovember and December. 

58. Hacon's Incorajparable. — A very large round pear, 
buttery, melting and rich. Trees spreading and very pro- 
ductive. One of the finest English varieties, but a little 
variable in this country. — October. 

59. Harvard. — A very popular and profitable market 
fruit around Boston; large, oblong, russety, melting and 
juicy; should be house ripened. The tree is vigorous and 
uj)right ; a tardy but very abundant bearer. — September. 

60. Jolionnot. — Medium size, roundish obovate, green- 
ish yellow, slightly russeted, rather coarse but melting, 
rich and musky. The tree is a good grower, succeeds 
well on the quince. Originated in Salem, Mass. 

61. KnigMs Seedling, — Originated in Rhode Island. 
Large, melting, sweet and good ; should be gathered before 
ripe ; tree a good grower. — September to October. 

62. Louise Bonne de Jersey. — One of the finest of all 



PEARS. 307 

pears, large, beautiful and delicious ; it succeeds well both 
on pear and quince, but on the latter, especially, it is all 
that can be desired. — September and October. Foreign. 

63. Long Green (Yerte Longue). — Really long and 
green, juicy, sweet and good ; a fine strong grower and 
good bearer on the quince. — October. Foreign. 

64. Long Green^ Striped (Yerte Longue Panache). — A 
variety of the preceding, with striped wood and fruit, but 

nferior in quality. 

65. Las Canas. — ^A fine Belgian variety, first fruited by 
Mr. Manning. Medium size, pyriform, yellow and slightly 
russeted, juicy, melting and fine. — October. 

QQ. Lodge. — Medium size, brownish, russety, juicy, 
melting, rich ; native of Philadelphia ; usually first-rate. 
— September and October. 

67. Marie Louise. — A large melting pear of the first 
quality ; the tree is a straggling, crooked grower, but 
hardy, and bears young and abundantly ; does not succeed 
on the quince. 

68. Napoleon. — A large, juicy, melting, fine fruit; tree 
vigorous, hardy and productive, makes a fine pyramid on 
the quince ; bears young, ripens in I^ovember, and may 
be kept till December. Should be ripened in a warm 
room.- 

69. Onondaga. — See Swan's Orange. 

70. Osioego Beurre. — An excellent new pear, from Os- 
wego, New York, medium size, melting, with a rich vinov 
flavor. Tree very hardy and productive ; makes a beauti- 
ful pyramid on the quince ; a most valuable pear ; ripens 
in October to December. 

71. Paradise d^Aidomne. — A large, fine melting pear, 
of the first quality ; resembles Beurre Bosc in shape and 
color. — October. 

72. Pratt. — A native of Ehode Island, medium size, 



308 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

melting, biitteiy, rich and good ; nearly first rate. — Sep- 
tember and October. 

73. Petre. — Native of Pennsylvania; medium size, 
obovate, pale yellow, slightly russeted, buttery, melting 
and rich ; generally first rate. — September. 

Y4. Pennsylvania. — Medium to large size, half melting; 
highly esteemed at Philadelphia, where it originated; 
does not j^rove so good in other places. Tree a good 
grower, both on pear and quince. — September. 

Y5. Surpass Yirgouloiise (or Yirgalieu). A very fine 
fruit, nearly equal in all respects to the "White Doyenne, 
introduced by the late Mr. Parmentier, of Brooklyn. — 
October. 

T6. Seclcel. — ^The highest flavored pear known ; consi- 
dered as the standard of excellence ; a stout, erect grower, 
not rapid, a good bearer ; grows well on the quince with 
us. — September and October. 

77. St. GMslain. — A medium sized, fine melting pear; 
tree a rapid and beautiful grower and good bearer ; should 
be ripened in the house. — September. 

78. Stevens'^ Genesee. — A large, roundish, buttery, fine- 
flavored pear, vigorous and highly productive ; succeeds 
well on both pear and quince ; a native of Monroe county, 
IsTew York. — September and October. 

79. Swan^^s 6^r<:m^e (Onondaga). — A very large, melting, 
high-flavored pear, vigorous and extremely productive, 
one of the best pears of its size and season ; succeeds well 
on the quince. — October and ]^ovember. 

80. Urlaniste (Beurre Picquery of the French). — A 
large, melting, buttery pear, a tardy bearer on the pear, 
but succeeds well on the quince. — October and I^ovember. 

81. Yan Mons Leon Leclerc. — A very large pear, four 
and a half inches in length, and three in diameter, of an 
orange color at maturity. Tree vigorous and productive, 
succeeds well on the quince, and bears quite young ; 



PEAKS. 309 

cracks a little in some seasons, and should have a rich, 
warm soil. — October and ]N"ovember. 

82. WasMngton. — A medium sized, beautiful j^ear, sweet 
and delicious ; a fine grower on the pear, but does not 
succeed on the quince. — Middle of September. 

83. Wilhmson. — A very hardy and ^^I'oductive Rhode 
Island variety of second quality, medium size, obovate, 
yellow, melting, sweet and rich. Tree upright and vigo- 
rous. — October to I^ovember. 

84. Wilbur. — Medium, obovate, greenish and russety; 
rather coarse, melting, juicy and good. Native. 

CLASS III. WINTER PEARS. 

85. Beurre cVAremherg. — One of the finest winter 
pears, large, melting, rich, vinous flavored, ripens well 
without any extra care ; tree vigorous and productive ; 
succeeds w^ell on the quince. — December to January. 

86. Beurre^ Easter. — ^A very large, fine melting pear ; 
better on the quince than on the pear ; keeps till spring. 

87. Beurre Gris cVHiver Nouveau. — A large, new, 
melting, buttery pear, of the highest quality, flavor rich 
and vinous, like the brown Beurre, but milder ; tree suc- 
ceeds well on the quince, bearing quite young. — Novem- 
ber and December, and may be kept till January. 

88. Beurre Bance. — A fine, melting, rich pear, keep- 
ing till spring ; tree a j^oor grower. 

89. Chaumontel (English). — A large, fine, buttery, 
melting, rich pear ; should have a warm soil and situa- 
tion ; succeeds well on the quince. — December. 

90. Columhia. — A large, handsome, native pear, melt- 
ing, buttery and rich ; tree vigorous and remarkably pro- 
ductive ; grows well on the quince with us. — November 
and January. 

91. Doyenne d? Hiver Nouveau or cTAlengon. — A large 



310 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

and verj fine late-keeping variety received from France ; 
golden yellow, with a brown tinge in the sun, melting, 
buttery and rich ; tree upright and vigorous, and very pro- 
ductive on the quince ; have had it very fine on the 1st 
of March, ripened in the cellar ; will prove very valu- 
able. 

92. Glout Morceau. — A large, melting, buttery, sweet 
pear ; tree vigorous and productive ; like the Duchesse 
d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne, and some others, it is de- 
cidedly superior on the quince, and makes a beautiful 
pyramid. — December. 

93. Josephine de Malines. — A new Flemish w^inter pear, 
pronounced both in France and England to be the finest 
winter variety ; medium in size, melting and rich ; the 
tree is a moderate grower, with quite small leaves ; it 
appears to succeed well on the quince ; keeps till spring. 

94. Lawrence. — A fine, large, melting, rich flavored 
pear, a native of Long Island ; tree a fair grower on both 
pear and quince ; a regular and abundant bearer. — 1S,q- 
vember to February. Ripens well in the cellar. 

95. Passe Cohnar.—^'L^rgQ^ buttery, and rich; tree a 
fine, free grower on both pear and quince ; so disposed to 
over-fruitfulness that thinning is quite necessary to obtain 
fine fruit. — December. 

96. Sieulle (Doyenne Sieulle). — A large, roundish, melt- 
ing pear, that keeps till January ; tree vigorous and up- 
right ; succeeds remarkably well on the quince. 

97. St. Germahi.^ Princess. — A medium sized, juicy, 
fine flavored fruit ; ripens in the cellar, like an apple 
through the winter ; a moderate grower and good bearer. 
— March. 

98. St. Germ.ain. — An old variety, large, melting, and 
sweet ; succeeds well on the quince ; bears young and 
abundantly. — December to January. 

99. Vicar of WinJifeld or Monsieur Le Cure. — A 



PEARS. 311 

large, long pear, fair and handsome, of good, but not first- 
rate quality ; tree a most vigorous grower on both pear 
and quince, and on the latter makes a beautiful and pro- 
ductive jDjramid ; one of the most valuable of all late 
pears. — ^November to January. Kipens well in the cellar. 

100. Wifiter Nelis (Bonne de Maline and Beurre de 
Maline, of some French catalogues). — One of the best of 
early winter pears, medium size, melting and buttery, 
with a rich, sprightly flavor ; tree is rather slender, strag- 
gling growth. — November and January. 

CLASS IV. SELECT BAKIXG A^"D STEWING PEARS. 

101. Boncliretien (Flemish). — Medium to large size ; 
tree vigorous, spreading, and irregular, and bears great 
crops ; keeps through winter. 

102. Bonchretien (Spanish). — Medium to large, pyri- 
form, tapering to the stalk, yellow with a red cheek ; 
cooks well. — December and January. 

103. Cattillac. — Yery large, roundish, bears quite young 
'and abundantly on the quince ; keeps all winter. 

104. Chajptal. — Yery large, somewhat resembling 
Duchesse d'Angouleme ; keeps till spring ; cooks finely, 
and is sometimes tolerable for eating ; tree vigorous ; 
bears very young on the quince. 

105. Easter Bergamot. — Medium size, rough, greenish ; 
keeps well, and cooks finely ; trees remarkably vigorous, 
erect, and fruitful ; bears quite young on the quince. 

106. Pound (Angora, Uvedale's St. Germain). — Mon- 
strous size ; often weighs two pounds ; stews well ; tender, 
and of a rich crimson color ; trees vigorous, and very pro- 
ductive ; liable to be blown off standard trees ; succeeds 
well on the quince, and bears young ; keeps all winter. 



312 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 



SELECT ASSORTMENTS OF PEARS. 

Profitable varieties for marlcet orchards. — Nos. 4, 31, 
42, 45, 46, 50, 62, 78, 85, 86, 94, 99, 106. 

Ten very hardy iDvolific sorts. — I^os. 20, 24, 25, 52, 59, 
n% 94, 97, 99, 106. 

The great market pear of Western New York, is the 
White Doyenne or YirgaUeu. No better can be desired 
of the season ; for summer the Bartlett. The Windsor 
or Summer Belle .^ and the Summer Boncliretien^ are both 
veiy profitable pears, at present brought into our markets 
in large quantities. Neither of them is described, be- 
cause it is not desirable to extend their cultivation whilst 
we have the Bartlett. 

Twenty-five fine varieties for tJie garden.^ on quince 
stocks.— Nos. 3, 4, 6, 19, 22, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 42, 45, 46, 
53, 62, 68, 76, 78, 79, 85, 86, 87, 92, 99, 106. 

Any or all of these may be chosen without running 
any risk of a failure. 

First-rate sorts for pear stocks., or to he double worked 
on the quince.— ^o^. 27, 34, 41, 50, 67, 71. 

NEW AND RARE PEARS, RECENTLY INTRODrCED, THAT GIVE 
PROMISE OF EXCELLENCE. 

THOSK THAT HAVE BEEN PROVED TO SUCCEED ON THE QUINCE ARE 
DESIGNATED BY A (q) . 

107. Adele de St. Denis. — New Belgian, medium size, 
very handsome, russety, melting, vinous, and perfumed. — 
October. 

108. Arch Due Charles. — Medium size, melting ; tree a 
vigorous, fine grower, both on pear and quince. — October. 

109. Alpha (New Belgian). — Medium size, greenish 
yellow, buttery and fine ; highly recommended by Mr. 
Manning. — October. 



PEAUS. 313 

110. A7'hre Coitrbe or Amiral (Yan Mons). — Medium 
to large, melting and delicious ; branches irregular and 
crooked. — September. 

111. Belle et Bonne des Zees or Bonne des Zees. — A new, 
large, and "fine Belgian variety, ripening immediately 
after the Bartlett ; obovate, yellow, red next the sun ; 
melting and perfumed. 

112. Brandywine. — Recently introduced by Dr. Brin- 
kle, of Philadelphia ; originated in that vicinity ; ripens 
same season as the Bartlett ; obovate, yellow, and slightly 
russeted ; melting, sweet, and perfumed. — September. 

113. Betirre Benoist. — Large, obovate, yellow with a 
red cheek ; melting, juicy, and sweet. — October. From 
France recently ; found in a hedge. 

114. Beurre Bretonneau (Esperin, Belgium). — Medium 
to large, oval, slightly pyramidal ; half melting ; tree 
vigorous and productive ; keeps till April or May. 

115. Beurre Clairgeau. — A new French variety, de- 
scribed to us as being as large as Duchesse d'Angouleme, 
and of excellent quality. — October and ^N'ovember. 

116. Bezi Sans Pareil. — A new winter variety from 
France ; large, greenish, half melting. — February. 

117. Beurre Ourtet (Bouvier). — Medium size, melting, 
and fine (q). — October. French. 

118. Beurre Davis. — Large, melting, productive (q). — 
October. French. 

119. Beurre JDtmal. — Large, melting ; tree vigorous 
and productive (q). — October and E'ovember. French. 

120. Beurre Giffard or Giffart. — Medium size, melt- 
ing ; tree has erect, slender branches ; productive ; one 
of the best new, early varieties (q). — August. French. 

121. Beurre Goubaidt. — Medium size, roundish, half 
melting ; tree vigorous and very prolific ; bears quite 
young (q) ; new. — September. Angers, France. 

122. Beurre Moire. — Medium size, melting ; tree vigo- 

14 



314 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FRUITS. 

roiis and productive (q).— September and October. 
French. 

123. Beiirre Superfine.— KQ^imo. size, melting, very 
productive ; new (q). — October. French. 

124. Beurre St. Mcholas.— Large, green, and russet, 
melting, a little coarse, juicy, and high flavored.— Sep- 
tember and October. French. 

125. Betirre Hardy. — A new variety introduced by 
Jamin, of Paris ; large, melting, and good ; tree a vigorous 
and beautiful grower on the quince. — October. 

126. Beurre de Waterloo. — Medium, obovate pyriform, 
greenish yellow, with a blush next the sun ; flesh buttery, 
melting, and high flavored ; received from France in 1843 ; 
was the best pear we tasted in 1850 ; ripe latter end of 
October. 

12Y. Beurre Langelier. — A splendid new variety, intro- 
duced by Mr. Langelier of the isle of Jersey. Mr. Hovey, 
who has had it bear, gives it the highest character, and thinks 
it will prove one of the flnest winter varieties from abroad. 
Large, greenish, with a shade of red in the sun ; melting, 
juicy, and vinous ; tree a beautiful grower, with large, 
shining foliage ; succeeds finely on the quince. — Decem- 
ber and January. 

128. Brandes St. Germain (Yan Mons). — Medium, 
pyriform, oblong, green and russet, melting, sugary, and 
rich ; tree vigorovis, shoots slender and spreading. — De- 
cember to March. Will prove a valuable winter variety ; 
first introduced by Mr. Manning. 

129. Broom^mrlz (Knight's) English. ■ — Medium, round- 
ish, of a beautiful cinnamon russet, melting and juicy, 
" partaking of the flavor of a melon and pine-apple." — 
January. 

130. Burling hame. — A seedling raised in Marietta, 
Ohio ; medium size, very productive, melting, and good. 
— July and August. 



PEARS. 315 

131. Colmar Musque. — Medium size, turbinate, golden 
yellow, texture and flavor of Bartlett ; ripe in October ; 
a most delicious variety ; bears young and abundantly ; 
received from France in 1848. 

132. Cahot (Massachusetts). — Medium size, buttery and 
sweet, very productive. — September and October. 

133. Catinka (Esperin). — Large, meltmg, and excel- 
lent ; new ; said to be in eating for five or six weeks (q). 

134. Colmar Bonnet (Yan Mons). — Medium size, melt- 
ing and sugary (q). — September and October. 

135. Colmar d? Areniherg . — Yery large, of second qua- 
lity ; tree very vigorous and productive (q). — October and 
]^ovember. 

136. Commodore. — Medium size, buttery, and sweet. — 
October. 

137. Chapman (Penn.). — Large, half melting. — Sep- 
tember and October. 

138. Chancellor (Penn.). — Large, melting, and rich ; 
new. — September and October. 

139. Delwes de Jodoigne (Bouvier). — Large, melting ; 
tree vigorous and productive ; new (q). — ^November. 

140. De Bavay. — Large, melting, said to be first quality 
(q). — September. 

141. Bug de Bordeaux (Epine Dumas). — Medium size, 
half melting, vigorous, and j)roductive (q). — November. 

142. Be Lejnne. — Medium size, half melting, produc- 
tive (q). — September. 

143. Belices d'' Hardemjpont. — Medium size to large, 
melting, productive (q). — N^ovember and December. 

144. Billen or " Boyenne BillenP — Medium size, melt- 
ing and good (q). — December. 

145. Boyenne Goubault. — Medium size, melting and 
good, very productive (q). — "Winter. 

146. Boyenne Bohin. — A new variety from Angers, 



316 SELECT VAKLETIES OF FEUITS. 

France, said to be very large, beautiful, and excellent ; 
ripens in October. 

147. Doyenne Rose. — One of the most beautiful of all 
pears, resembling the White Doyenne in size and form, 
but not so good ; Same season. 

148. Duchesse de Mars. — Medium, roundish, obovate, 
pale yellow, fair and smooth, juicy, melting, and very 
highly perfumed. — October. Received from France in 
1848 ; succeeds on the quince ; tree rather delicate. 

149. Eyeivood (Knight, Eng.). — Medium size, melting 
and rich, high flavored. — November. 

150. Ferdinand de Meester.^ or Rousselet de Meester 
(Yan Mons). — Medium size, melting and good. — Septem- 
ber and October. 

151. Fleur de Niege. — Medium size, melting and pro- 
ductive (q). — October. 

152. Fortunee. — Rather small, melting, high flavored ; 
succeeds well on the quince ; keeps till spring. Episco- 
pal has proved synonymous with this. 

153. Fredrika Bremer. — A variety recently brought 
to notice by Mr. John C. Hastings, of Clinton, N. Y. It 
is large, obovate inclining to pyriform ; green, changing 
to yellow as it matures ; melting, buttery, and sprightly ; 
may prove to be a fine variety. October and November. 
The tree is said to be very productive, and some speci- 
mens to attain the weight of sixteen omices. 

154. Fondante de Maline. — A new Belgian winter 
variety, melting and good ; very productive ; succeeds 
well on the quince. Keeps till February. 

155. Figue. — A very distinct, greenish pear ; medium 
size, pyriform, stem fleshy; melting, juicy, and good. 
November. Tree vigorous, and exceedingly productive 
on the quince. 

156. Gratioli of Jersey. — Medium size, melting ; very 
sweet and good ; succeeds well on the quince. — October. 



PEAKS. 31T 

157. II%ill (Mass.). — Medium size, melting, fair and 
good. — September and October. 

168. Inconmce Yan Mons. — Medium size, melting, and 
fine. — January to February. 

159. Jalousie de Fontenay Vendee. — Medium size, 
melting and ricb ; new. — September. Has proved excel- 
lent so far. 

160. Joneses Seedling (Pbila.) — l^ew, and said to be 
excellent ; grows well on the quince. 

161. Kniglifs March Berg amot. — One of Knight's best 
seedlings, described as resembling the Autumn Bergamot ; 
buttery and rich ; valuable for its long keeping. — March. 
Yery hardy and productive. 

162. Kirtland. — A seckel seedling, raised in Ohio by 
H. P. Kirtland, Esq., and introduced by Prof. Kirtland, 
of Cleveland, w^ho describes it as medium size, globular- 
ovate, crimson russet, varying to a dull green ; melting, 
juicy, rich, and in the highest degree delicious ; tree has 
the thrifty habit of White Doyenne. — September. 

163. Louise de Boulogne. — Large, breaking, keeps 
through winter ; succeeds on the quince. 

164. Louise d''Qrleans (Yan Mons). — Medium size, 
oblong, brownish green ; melting and sugary. — IN'ovember. 

165. Mocaas (Knight's, Eng.). — Medium size, obovate, 
brown ; melting, juicy, and high flavored ; tree very 
hardy and productive. — December. 

166. Monarcli (Knight's). — Spurious varieties have been 
disseminated. The true one is large, roundish obovate, 
brownish, buttery, and slightly musky ; tree hardy and 
productive, but a tardy bearer ; succeeds double worked 
on the quince. — January. 

167. Muskingum. — A native of Ohio ; rather large, 
roundish, greenish yellow, russeted, melting, juicy, sweet, 
and high flavored. September. It is said to be hardy, 
productive, and a fine grower; may prove valuable. 



318 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

168. McLaughlin. — A native of Maine ; medium size, 
obovate, brownish yellow ; a little coarse, but juicy and 
rich ; very hardy and productive ; may be valuable for 
the ISTorth. — November and December. 

169. Nouveau Poiteau (Yan Mons).— A large, fine, melt 
ing pear ; has fruited at Boston, and is pronounced excel- 
lent. — October and November. Tree vigorous and pro- 
ductive. 

lYO. Osborne. — Medium to small, bright yellow, melt- 
ing, juicy, and sweet ; tree vigorous ; originated in 
Indiana, proves good at Cincinnati ; may prove a valu- 
able early variety for the West. — August at Cincinnati. 

ITl. Passe Tardive. — Large, breaking, productive ; for 
cooking all through winter. 

172. Queeii of the Low Countries. — Medium to large, 
half-melting.^October and November. 

173. Peine d^Hiver. — Medium, half-melting; produc- 
tive. — December to January. 

174. Seigneur d'^Esperin. — Medium size, melting ; first 
quality. — October. 

175. St. Andre. — Medium size, half-melting, very pro- 
ductive. — October and November. 

176. Sageret. — Medium size, melting, sweet and sugary. 
— December to March. 

177. St. Michael ArcJiangel.—Lsirge, melting, very 
productive. — October. 

178. Suzette de Bavay. — Medium, melting, first quality, 
remarkably productive ; is said to keep all winter ; best in 
March and April. 

179. St. Dorothee. — Large to medium, greenish yellow, 
russeted; melting, sprightly, and fine. October. This 
has borne with Mr. Hovey, who gives it a very high 
character. 

180. Triom])he de Jodoigne (Bouvier).— Very large, 



QUINCES. 319 

melting ; tree very vigorous and productive. IN'ovember 
and December. Has proved good at Boston. 

181. Tarquin. — Large, coarse; for cooking only; tree 
very vigorous and productive ; is said to keep two years. 

182. Viscomte Spoelherg. — Medium size to small, yellow 
tinged with red next the sun ; buttery and melting ; first- 
rate under good culture ; succeeds w^ell on the quince. — 
IS^ovember. 

Section 3. — Quinces. 

1. A^j)le-Shwped or Orange. — Large, roundish, with a 
short neck ; of a bright golden yellow color ; tree has 
rather slender shoots and oval leaves ; very productive. 
This is the variety most extensively cultivated for the 
fruit. — Ripe in October. 

2. Pear-Shaped. — This has generally more of a pyri- 
form shape than the preceding ; the fruit is larger and 
finer, the tree stronger. 

3. Portugal. — The fruit of this is more oblong than the 
preceding, of a lighter color and better quality, but not 
so good a bearer ; the shoots are stouter, and the leaves 
thicker and broader ; usually propagated by budding or 
grafting on the Apple Quince. A week or two later than 
the Apple. 

4. Angers. — A variety of the Portugal, the strongest 
grower of all the quinces, and the best for pear stocks. 
The fruit is also said to be larger and rather better than 
any of the others. We have not seen it yet, but expect 
our trees to bear this season, 1851. 

5. Upright. — A variety w^ith slender erect branches; 
grows more freely from cuttings than any other. We 
have not fruited it, nor found it anywhere described, but 
have trees now showins; fruit buds. Received amono- 
stocks from France. 



320 SELECT YAEIETIES OF FKUITS. 

0. Chinese. — Usually cultivated for ornament. Quite 
different in appearance from the others. The leaves are 
glossy, sharply and beautifully toothed ; the fruit is large, 
oblong, bright yellow, and keeps till spring ; little used. 
The flowers are large and showy, with the fragrance of 
the violet ; worked on the other sorts ; rather tender, 
requiring a sheltered situation. A very tardy bearer. 

7. Ja^an. — This is very distinct from all the others ; 
very bushy, thorny, and hardy. There are two varieties. 
The common one has beautiful bright red blossoms, and 
the other blush ; the most beautiful of all our hardy 
spring flowering shrubs. Fruit about as large as a 
chicken's Qgg ; green, and quite unfit for use. 



SECOND DIVISION.— STONE FRUITS— APRICOTS, CHERRIES, 
PEACHES, NECTARINES AND PLUMS. 

Section 4. — Select Apkicots. 

1. Breda. — Small, round, dull orange, marked with red 
in the sun, flesh orange colored, juicy, rich and vinous ; 
parts from the stone, kernel sweet, tree hardy, robust and 
prolific. — ^End of July and beginning of August. 

2. Early Golden (Dubois). — Small, pale orange, flesh 
orange, juicy and sweet ; kernel sweet ; tree very hardy 
and productive. The original tree at Fishkill is said to 
have yielded $90 w^orth of fruit in one season. — Beginning 
of July. 

3. Large Early. — Large, orange, with a red cheek, flesh 
sweet, rich and excellent, parts from the stone ; tree vigo- 
rous and productive. — Beginning of August. 

4. Moorjpark. — One of the largest and finest apricots, 
yellow, with a red cheek, flesh orange, sweet, juicy and 
rich, parts from the stone ; growth rather slow, but stout 
and short jointed ; very productive. 



CHEEEEES. 321 

5. Orange. — Medium size, orange, with a ruddy cheek, 
flesh rather dry, requires ripening in the house ; adheres 
slightly to the stone. — End of July. 

6. Peach. — A very large, handsome and excellent va- 
riety, quite similar to the Moorpark ; the shoots are not so 
short jointed, and the fruit a degree larger. 

T. — PuTjple or Black Apricot. — ^This is quite distinct in 
all respects from others, very much like a plum, small, 
pale red, purple in the sun, flesh yellow, juicy and plea- 
sant. The tree has slender dark shoots, and small, oval, 
glossy foliage. It is as hardy as a plum, and therefore 
worthy of attention where the finer sorts are too tender. 
— August. 

Nos. 1 and 2 are the surest and most abundant bearers, 
but 3, 4 and 6 are the largest and finest. No. 7 is only 
recommended by its hardiness, for localities where the 
others do not succeed. 

Section 5. — Select Cheeeies. 
class i. heaet cheeeies. 

Fruit heart shaped, with tender sweet flesh. Trees of 
rapid growth, with large, soft drooping leaves. 

1. American Amher. — Medium size, amber, shaded and 
mottled with bright red; tender, juicy, sweet and deli- 
cious ; hangs very long on the tree without rotting ; re- 
markably vigorous and productive. — End of June till mid- 
dle of July. 

2. Bauman^s May. — Small, dark red; tender, juicy 
and sweet. Tree a vigorous grower, and a most abundant 
bearer. Eipens very early ; middle of June here. French. 

3. Blach Heart. — An excellent old variety ; rather large, 
black, tender, juicy and rich. Tree grows large, and is 
very prolific. — Beginning of July. French. 

14" 



322 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

4. Black Eagle. — Large, black, tender, jnicy, ricli and 
liigh flavored. Tree a rapid, stout grower and productive. 
Eipe beginning of July to the 15tli. English. 

5. Black Tartarian. — Yerj large, purplish black, half 
tender; flavor mild and pleasant. Tree a remarkably 
vigorous, erect and beautiful grower, and an immense 
bearer. — Ripe last of June and beginning of July. One 
of the most poj^ular varieties in all parts of the country. 
Russian. 

6. Burros Seedling. — Large, j)ointed; flesh color in the 
shade, j^ale red in the sun ; tender, sw^eet and delicious. 
In luxuriant foliage and stateliness of growth it surpasses 
even the Black Tartarian. — Beginning of July. ]^ew; 
origin, Perrinton, Monroe county. New York. 

Y. Coe'^s Transparent. — Medium size, pale amber, red 
and mottled next the sun ; tender, sweet and fine. — End 
of June here. Tree vigorous and erect. Origin, Middle- 
town, Conn. 

8. Davenport'' s Early. — Yery similar in all respects to 
Black Heart, but a few days earlier. American. 

9. Downer'' s Late Red. — Rather large, light red, tender 
and juicy; slightly bitter until fully ripe, when it is 
most delicious. Tree is a vigorous erect grower, and pro- 
ductive. — Tenth to twentieth of July. American, and one 
of the best of all. 

10. Earhj White Heart. — Medium size, yellowish white, 
red in the sun; tender and sweet, growth moderately 
vigorous and erect. — Middle and last of June. 

11. Early Purple Guigne. — Small to medium size, pur- 
ple, tender, juicy and sweet. Growth slender and spread- 
ing. — Ripe at same time as Bauman's May. French. 

12. Elton. — Large, pointed ; pale yellow, nearly covered 
with light red; half tender, juicy, rich and delicious. 
Tree vigorous, spreading and irregular. — ^End of June. 
English. 



CIIERKIES. 323 

13. KnigJit-s Early Black. — Large, black, tender, juicy, 
rich and excellent. Tree vigorous and very productive ; 
branches spreading. — Ripe a few days before Black Tar- 
tarian. English. 

14. Manning^s Mottled. — Rather large, amber shaded 
and mottled distinctly with red ; tender, sweet and deli- 
cious. Tree erect, vigorous and productive. — End of June. 
Massachusetts. 

15. Siveet Montmorency. — Small, light red, tender and 
sweet. Tree vigorous, erect and productive. — Ripens 
about the same time as Sparhawk's Honey, or a few days 
later. American. 

16. White French Giiigne (probably the " Merisier a 
gros fruit blanc," of the French). — A distinct and beauti- 
ful cherry, rather large, creamy white, flesh tender and 
melting; juice colorless, sweet, with a scarcely percepti- 
ble degree of bitterness ; not attacked by the birds, like 
red and black cherries. Tree is vigorous and very pro- 
ductive. — Middle of July. French. 

17. WilM7iso7i. — Medium size, black, tender, juicy and 
rich. Tree vigorous, erect and productive. — Rij)ens late, 
succeeds Downer's. Massachusetts. 

18. SparhawWs Honey. Medium size, roundish, light 
red, sweet and delicious ; stone large. Tree a vigorous, 
pyramidal grower and very productive. — Ripens with 
Dow^ner's late, and hangs long on the tree ; a great favo- 
rite with most people. Massachusetts. 

CLASS n. BIGAEREAU CHEKEIES. 

These are chiefly distinguished from the preceding 
class by their firmer flesh. Their growth is vigorous, 
branches spreading, and foliage luxuriant, soft and droop- 
ing. 

19. Bigarreau., or Yellow Spanish — Large, pale yel- 



S2J: SELECT YAKIETIES OF FKUITS. 

low, with a bright red cheek in the sun ; flesh Urm, juicy 
and delicious; one of the best, most beautiful, and popular 
of all light colored cherries. Tree vigorous and j)rodvic- 
tive. — End of June. Turkish. 

20. Buttner's Yellow. — Medium size, yellow, flesh crisp, 
juicy and sweet. Tree vigorous and productive. Its pe- 
culiar and beautiful color makes this sort desirable. — End 
of July. 

21. China Bigarreaxi. — Medium size, oval, red, beauti- 
fully speckled ; firm, sweet and rich, with a scarcely per- 
ceptible bitterness. Tree vigorous, erect, and a most pro- 
fuse bearer ; a very distinct and pretty variety. — Begin- 
ning of July. Hangs long on the tree. 

22. Flesh-Colored Bigarreau (Bigarrean couleur de 
chair). — A large and beautiful cherry, resembling the 
Elton, and ripening about the same time. Erench. 

23. Flwence. — A beautiful cherry, resembling the Bi- 
garreau ; but firmer, and a week later. Erom Elorence. 

24. Gridley or Ajpjple Cherry. — Medium size, dark 
brown, nearly black; flesh very firm, sprightly sub-acid, 
high flavored. Tree grows rapidly and erect, and bears 
immense crops. Its firmness and lateness make it very 
valuable for market. — Middle to last of July. Mass. 

25. Hildesheim Bigarreau. — Medium size, yellow, red 
in the sun ; flesh firm, sweet and agreeable. Tree is a 
good grower, but the ends of the young shoots are a23t to 
get winter killed here. — Beginning of August. German. 

26. Holland Bigarreaic. — ^A very large and beautiful 
'-•herry; pale yellow, covered with bright red in the sun; 
flesh firm, juicy, sweet and fine flavored. Tree vigorous, 
with spreading, irregular branches. — End of June and be- 
ginning of July. Dutch. 

27. Large Heart-shaped Bigarreau (Gros Couret). — 
Large, dark, shining brown ; firm, rich and excellent. 



CHEEEIES. 325 

Tree vigorous, branches sj)reading. — Middle of July. 
French. 

28. Madison Bigarrecm. — Medium size, amber, co- 
vered with red in the sun ; flesh half tender, sweet and 
fine flavored. — End of June and beginning of July. 
American. 

29. Merveille de Sejyt. — A new French cherry, remark- 
able only for its lateness. — Eipens with us the last of 
August. Tree a vigorous grower and good bearer. Fruit 
small, firm, rather dry and sweet. 

30. Nai)oleon Bigarrecm. — A magnificent, large cherry, 
surpassing in size and beauty all the others ; pale yellow, 
with a bright red cheek; flesh very flrm until fully ripe, 
when it becomes tender, juicy and sweet. Tree is a 
vigorous grower, and bears enormous crops. — Beginning 
of July. French. 

31. Rockport Bigarreau (Dr. Ivirkland). — Large, pale 
amber in the shade, light red in the sun ; half tender, 
sweet and good. Tree vigorous and erect. — ^y^q same 
time as Black Tartarian. Ohio. 

32. Tradescanfs Black Heart (Elkhorn). — Yery large, 
black, firm, juicy and good. Tree vigorous and upright, 
with peculiar gray bark. A great bearer, and so late as 
to be very valuable. — Middle and last of July. England. 

33. Tardive d^ Argental. — Large, long, dark, shining, 
red, nearly black ; tender, when ripe ; juicy, with a pecu- 
liar flavor, something like raspberry. Tree is an upright, 
vigorous grower, with peculiar small, light, wavy leaves. 
—Middle of July. 

CLASS ni. DUKE AND MOEELLO CHERKIES. 

These two classes of cherries are very distinct from the 
preceding. The trees are of smaller size and grow 
slowly ; the leaves are thicker and more erect, and of a 



326 SELECT VAKIETIES OF FKUITS. 

deeper green. The fruit is grenerally roTincl, and in color 
varj^ing from light red, like Belle de CJioisy^ to dark 
brown, like Maydiike or Morello. 

The Dukes have stout, erect branches usually, and some 
of them, like Belle de Choisy and Beine Hortense^ quite 
sweet, wdiilst the Morellos have slender, spreading 
branches, and acid fruit invariably. These two classes 
are peculiarly appropriate for dwarfs and pyramids, on 
the mahaleb stock, and their hardiness renders them w^ell 
worthy of attention in localities where the Hearts and 
Bigarreaus are too tender. 

31. Belle de Ohoisy. — Medium size, amber shaded and 
mottled w^ith red ; tender, melting, sweet and rich ; rather 
a shy bearer ; tree makes a pretty pyramid. — End of 
June. French. 

35. Belle Magnifique. — A magnificent, large, red, late 
cherry ; excellent for cooking, and fine for table when 
fully ripe, rather acid, tender, juicy, rich ; tree is a slow 
grower, but a most profuse bearer ; makes a fine dwarf 
or a pyramid on the mahaleb. — Last of July. French. 

36. Carnation. — Large, light, red mottled with orange; 
tender, juicy, a little acid, rich, and excellent; tree is a 
good grower and a profuse bearer ; makes a fine dwarf. — 
Middle and last of July. 

37. Donna Maria. — Medium size, dark red, tender, 
juicy, acid, rich, fine for cooking ; tree small, very pro- 
lific—Middle of July. French. 

38. Du Word Nouvelle. — A new French morello, ripens 
all through August ; medium size, bright red, tender, 
acid ; useful on account of its lateness ; makes a beau- 
tiful dwarf or pyramid. 

39. Early Richmond.^ Kentish or Montmorency, — An 
early, red, acid cherry, very valuable for cooking early in 
the season. — Kipens through June. 

40. FlemisJi Moritmoreney . — A remarkably short-stem- 



CHERRIES. 327 

med, flattened cherry ; medium size, red, tender, juicy, 
acid, good for cooking ; rather a poor bearer, but curious. 

41. IncluUe., Nain Precoce. — ^The earliest of all cher- 
ries, ripening about the last of May or first of June ; it is 
dwarf in habit, and makes a pretty bush on the mahaleb 
stock ; the foliage is small, dark, and glossy, and it is 
quite prolific. French. 

42. Jeffries Duke. — Medium size, red, tender, sub-acid ; 
branches erect and stiff; makes a beautiful pyramid. — ■ 
Middle of June. 

43. Late Diike. — Large, light red, late and excellent ; 
tree makes a nice dwarf or pyramid. — End of July. 

44. May Duke. — An old, w^ell known, excellent variety, 
large, dark red, juicy, sub-acid, rich ; tree hardy, vigo- 
rous, and fruitful ; ripens a long time in succession ; fine 
for dwarfs and pyramids. — Middle of June, for several 
weeks. 

45. Morello (English). — Large, dark red, nearly black, 
tender, juicy, sub-acid, rich ; tree small and slender ; 
makes a fine bush on the mahaleb ; if trained on a north 
wall, it may be in use through all the rnonth of August. 

46. Plumstone Morello. — Large, dark red, rich and 
fine ; the best of all the morellos ; tree a slender, slow 
grower ; makes a nice bush on the mahaleb. — July and 
August. 

47. Reine Hortense.^ Monstreuse de Bavay. — A new 
French, cherry of great excellence ; large, bright red, 
tender, juicy, nearly sweet, and delicious ; tree vigorous, 
and bears well ; makes a beautiful pyramid. 

NEW AND RARE CHERRIES RECENTLY BROUGHT TO NOTICE. 

48. Bigarreau Monstreuse de Mezel. — A very large, 
fine variety, recently introduced from France, but not 
fully equal to the character given it in the French jour- 



32S SELECT VAEIETIES OF FEUITS. 

nals. It is quite as large as Tradescanfs Blacky and 
somewhat similar in form ; of a dark red, approaching a 
mahogany color when ripe ; very firm ; tree of a vigorous 
habit, similar to the Elton. 

49. Belle d' Orleans. — A beautiful medium sized pale 
cherry, ripening immediately after Bauman's May and 
Early Purple ; from France. 

50. ChainjMg^ie. — A new variety, raised by Mr. Charles 
Downing, of l^ewburgh ; described in " Hort.," vol. v., as 
being very hardy, a great bearer, fruit medium size, brick 
red, " with a lively rich flavor, a mingling of sugar and 
acid ;" ripe twentieth of June, and hangs long on the 
tree. 

51. Downing' s Bed Cheeh. — This is also described in 
the " Hort.," as " far handsomer, as well as more tender 
and sweet, than the Bigarreau or Graffion, which it some- 
what resembles," and precedes a few days in ripening. 

52. Great Bigarreau. — This name has been given by 
Mr. Downing " temporarily, until its real name be 
found," to a very large, fine cherry, recently brought into 
notice by Mr. L. M. Ferris, of Orange county, ISTew York, 
who found it among imported fruit trees growing upon 
an estate of which he has recently come into 230ssession. 
It is described as larger than the Black Tartarian, and 
fully equal in quality, and ripening a few days later; 
described in " Hort.," in January, 1851. 

53. Weio Large Black Bigarreau. — Described in " Ho- 
vey's Magazine," December, 1850, as brought from the 
south of France fifteen or twenty years ago, by a gentle- 
man of Charlestown, Mass. No doubt, identical with 
" the Great Bigarreau" of Mr. Downing ; and as it has 
been known for many years by this name, it will, of 
course, take the preference if they prove identical. 

54. Roberts^ Bed Hea/rt. — A heait variety, raised in 



CHEEEIES. 329 

Salem, Mass., medium size, pale amber, mottled with red, 
juicy, and sweet; a great bearer ; ripe last of June. 

55. VaiVs August Diike. — This is described as being 
one third larger than the May Duke^ and ripening at 
Troy about the eighth or tenth of August ; of a bright red 
color and flavor like the May Duke ; originated by Henry 
Yail, Esq., of Troy ; described in "Hort.," vol. iv. 

SMALL SELECT LISTS. 

For the Garden.— Eo^. 11, 13, 4, M, 12, 9, 34, 35, and 
45. 

For the Market Orchard.— Eo^. 5, 19, 30, 24, 32, 4, 
and 13. 

For Small Hardy Trees.— Eos. 34, 35, 36, 41, 45, 46, 
47, and 39. 

Section 6. — Select U^ectahines. 

The nectarine tree differs in nothing from a jjeach, and 
the fruit only in being smooth skinned. It is peculiarly 
liable to be destroyed by the curculio, so that it is not 
advisable to plant it in small gardens. 

1. Boston. — Large, bright yellow, with a red cheek ; 
flesh yellow, sweet and pleasant flavor, freestone. — First 
of September. 

2. Doivnto7i. — Large, greenish white, with a dark red 
cheek ; flesh greenish white, rich and high flavored ; one 
of the best. Free. 

3. Early Violet^ Yiolette Hative. — Medium size, yel- 
lowish green, with a purple cheek ; flesh pale green, melt- 
ing, rich and high flavored. Free. — Last of August. 

4. Elruge. — Medium size, greenish yellov/, with a dark 
red cheek ; flesh greenish white, juicy, and high flavored ; 
excellent. — Beginning of September. Free. 



330 SELECT YAEIETIES OF FKIJITS. 

5. Early Newington. — Large, pale green, red in the 
sun ; flesh pale, red at the stone, juic}', and rich ; adheres 
to the stone. Cling. 

6. Ilunfs Tawny. — Medium size ; yellow, with a red 
cheek ; flesh yellow, rich, and juicy- — Beginning of Au- 
gust. Free. 

7. Hardwich Seedling. — Large, ]3ale green, with a vio- 
let red cheek ; flesh pale green, juicy, melting, and rich. 
— End of August. Free. 

Kos. 2, 3, and 4, were recommended for general culti- 
vation by the Pomological Congress at ITew York in 
1849. 

The Gi'eat Stanwieh Nectarine.^ of which so much has 
been said in England, will soon be introduced here, and 
will be well worthy the attention of those who can give 
it a wall or a place under glass. 

Section 7. — Select Peaches. 
class i. freestones. 

Fl. S. DENOTES SMALL FLOWERS ; gl. GLANDS ; glob. GLOBOSE ; AND 

ren. reniform. 

1. AVoerge Yellow (Barnard's, Yellow Rare-Ripe, etc.). 
— Large, deep yellow, with a dull red cheek, flesh yellow, 
juicy, and rich ; tree vigorous, hardy, and productive. — 
Beginning of September. Fls. small, globose glands. 

2. Bergen^s Yellow. — Yery large, orange, red in the 
sun ; flesh yellow, juicy and fine flavored ; tree produc- 
tive. This is considered one of the best of yellow ]3eaches. 
— Middle of September. Glands ren. fl. small. 

3. Brevoort.) or JBrevoorfs 3f orris. — Large, dull white, 
with a red cheek ; flesh j^ale, sweet, and fine flavored ; a 
good and regular bearer. — Beginning of September. Fls. 
small, glands ren. 



PEACHES. 331 

4. CoWs Early Bed, — Medium size, mostly clouded 
and mottled with red ; flesh pale, juicy, rich, and deli- 
cious ; tree vigorous, and an abundant bearer. — Middle 
of August. Glands globose, flowers small. 

5. Cooled ge's Favorite. — A most beautiful and excellent 
peach ; skin white, delicately mottled with red ; flesh 
pale, juicy, and rich ; tree vigorous and productive. — 
Middle to end of August. Flowers small, globose glands. 

6. GraiofoixVs Early. — A magnificent, large, yellow 
peach, of good quality ; tree exceedingly vigorous and 
prolific ; its size, beauty, and productiveness, make it one 
of the most popular orchard varieties. — Beginning of 
September. Glands globose, flowers small. 

7. Crawford^s Late Melocoton (Crawford's Superb). — 
Really a superb yellow peach, very large, productive and 
good, ripening about the close of the peach season. — Last 
of September. Glands globose, fl. small. 

8. Druid Hill. — Large, roundish, greenish white, cloud- 
ed with red next the sun ; flesh greenish white, juicy, and 
rich ; very productive. — Middle of SejDtember. Origin- 
ated at Baltimore. Fl. s. gl. glob. 

9. Early Newhigton Free. — Large, whitish, with a red 
cheek ; flesh pale, red at the stone, rich and vinous flavor. 
— End of August. Fl. s. gl. ren. 

10. Early Anne (Green E"utmeg). — Small, greenish 
white, with a red cheek ; flesh pale, sweet, and good. — 
End of July. Flowers large, no glands, unthrifty, and 
liable to mildew ; only recommended for its earliness. 

11. Early Yorh (Early Purple, Serrate Early York, 
etc.). — Medium size ; on young thrifty trees large, green- 
ish white, covered in the sun with dull purplish red ; flesh 
juicy, rich and excellent ; tree a fair grower and very 
prolific ; one of the best early orchard varieties. — Middle 
of August. Leaves serrate, flowers large. 

12. Early Tillotson. — ^An excellent variety, ripening- 



882 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FEUITS. 

with the preceding, about the same size, and of excellent 
flavor ; the tree is sometimes considerably affected with 
mildew, and in jDarticular cases the fruit also ; it should 
have warm, light soil, and open exjDOSure. Serrate, fls. 
small. 

13. George the Fourth, — Large, white, with a red 
cheek ; flesh pale, juicj, and rich ; tree vigorous, and 
bears moderate crops, of the highest quality. — End of 
August. Gl. glob., fls. small. 

14. Grosse Mignonne. — Large, dull white, with a red 
cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, with a rich, vinous flavor ; a free 
grower and good bearer. In England it is called " the best 
peach in cultivation." — End of August. Flowers large, 
globose glands. 

15. Haine's Early. — Large, white, with a red cheek ; 
flesh pale, juicy, and delicious ; tree hardy and very pro- 
ductive ; one of the best varieties. — Middle of August. 
Els. small, glob. gl. 

16. Jacques' Rare-Ripe. — A su]3erb yellow peach, full 
as large and as good as Crawford's early, and ripening a 
week or ten days later ; origin, Massachusetts. Glands 
ren. fl. s. 

IT. Large Early YorTc. — A large and beautiful variety, 
white, with a red cheek ; flesh juicy and delicious ; tree 
very vigorous and productive ; one of the very best, — 
End of August. Gl. glob. fl. s. 

18. Late Red BaTe-Ltipe. — Large, roundish oval, grey- 
ish white, marbled with red in the sun ; flesh pale, rich 
and fine. — Beginning of September. Fl. s. gl. glob. 

19. Late Admirahle. — Large, roundish, oval, yellowish 
green, with a red cheek ; flesh jDale, fine flavored. — End 
of September. Fl. s. gl. glob. 

20. La, Grange. — Large, greenish white, slightly red- 
dened in the sun, flesh pale, juicy, sweet, and rich. Its 
lateness and color make it a desirable variety for pre- 



PEACHES. 333 

serving. It should have the warmest soil and situation 
north of 'New York, or it will not ripen well. — Last of Sep- 
tember or beginning of October ; fl. small, glands ren. 

21. Morris^ White. — Medium size, dull creamy white, 
tinged with red in the sun, flesh white to the stone, juicy 
and delicious ; tree a good bearer ; highly prized for 
preserving on account of the entire absence of red in the 
flesh. — Middle of September ; gl. ren., fl. small. 

22. Morris* Hed Rare Ripe. — Large, roundish, green- 
ish white, with a red cheek, -flesh pale, light red at the 
stone, juicy and rich; trees very productive; fl. small, 
glands glob. ; similar to George lY. 

23. Old Mixon Freestone. — Large, greenish white and 
red, flesh pale, juicy, and rich ; tree hardy and exceed- 
ingly productive ; a standard orchard variety. — Middle 
of September for the north. 

24. Red Rare Ripe (Ey. Red Rare Ripe). — A fine old 
sort, whitish, with a dark red cheek ; flesh i^ale, rich, and 
high flavored. — End of August. Slightly subject to mil- 
dew ; fl. small ; frequently comfounded with the follow- 
ing: 

25. Royal Kensington. — Yery similar to, if not iden- 
tical with the Grosse Mignonne ; several varieties of white 
fleshed j^eaches are cultivated about Rochester as the 
" Kensington." 

26. Royal George. — Medium to large size, white, v/itli 
a deep red cheek, flesh white, deep red at the stone, juicy, 
melting and rich ; tree productive. — End of August ; fl. 
small. 

27. Red Cheeh Melocoton. — A famous, old, well known, 
and popular variety ; large, oval, yellow, with a red 
cheek ; flesh yellow, juicy, rich and vinous ; tree very 
hardy and prolific ; valuable for the orchard. — Middle to 
end of September. Glands glob., fl. small. 

28. Snow Peach. — A beautiful fruit, medium size, skin 



334 SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 

and flesh clear, creamy white througliout ; tree hardy and 
productive, and shoots greenish, very distinct, and one of 
the most desirable of white peaches for preserving. — 
Beginning to middle of September ; fl. small, white. 

29. Scott' s Nonjpareil. — A new, very large and fine yel- 
low peach, from New Jersey, highly esteemed as a valu- 
able market variety. — Middle to end of September; fl. 
small, glands glob. 

30. Van Zandfs Su^jctI). — A beantiful smooth fruit, 
large size, whitish, with a red cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, 
sweet, and good. — First of September; fl. small, glands 
glob. ; origin, Long Island. 

31. Wavcfs Late Free. — Large, yellowish white, with a 
red cheek ; flesh pale, juicy, and good ; a standard pro- 
fitable late sort among the Delaware orchardists ; will 
probably not ripen north of ]N^ew York. 

32. Weldh Freestone. — A very large, roundish oval, late 
peach ; greenish white, streaked and marbled w^ith red 
next the sun ; flesh pale, pale, juicy, and good ; never 
fails to give an abundant crop at Rochester. Beginning 
to middle of October ; fl. small, glands ren. ; succeeds 
well in Massachusetts. 

33. White Imjyerial. — Medium to large size, pale, yel- 
lowish white, faintly marked with red ; flesh pale, jnicy, 
sweet, and good ; tree vigorous ; fl. small, gl. glob. 

CLASS n. — CLINGSTONES. 

34. Heath Cling. — A magnificent late peach, cream 
colored, with a light blush next the sun ; flesh greenish 
white, tender, juicy, and of the highest flavor ; fl. small, 
glands ren. ; tree very productive. — Ripe in October ; and 
has the rare property of keeping w^ell for several weeks 
after being gathered ; should be grown on a trellis or wall 
north of IN'ew York to bring it to perfection. 



PLUMS. 335 

35. Large White Cling. — Large, greenish white, lightly 
reddened in the sun, jnicv, sweet, and rich ; tree very 
hardy and productive ; highly esteemed for preserving on 
account of its light color ; fl. small, glands glob. 

36. Lemon Cling. — A very large and beautiful lemon- 
shaped variety, light yellow, reddened in the sun ; flesh 
yellow, rich, and vinous ; excellent for preserving ; tree 
hardy and productive. — End of September. Glands ren., 
fl. small. 

37. Old Mixon Clingstone. — Large, round, whitish, with 
a red cheek ; flesh pale, sweet, and rich flavored ; fl. 
small, glands glob. — Beginning of September. 

38. Old Newington Cling. — Large, yellowish white, with 
a red cheek ; flesh 23ale, red at the stone, rich, juicy, and 
good. — Middle of September ; fl. large ; no glands. 

Select listyS of Peaches. — Our most profitable orchard 
varieties in "Western I^ew York are, IsTos. 1, 4, 6, 11, 15 
or 17, 23, 27, and No. 6, the most valuable single variety, 
on account of its great size and beauty, and the vigor and 
productiveness of the tree. 

Select Garden Varieties.— ^o^. 2, 4, 5, 11, 13, 21, 23, 
and 28. 

Kobert Manning selects for l^ew England, out of seventy 
varieties that he has tested, Kos. 11, 13, 22, 6, 2, 19, 37, 
7, besides Nivette and Walter's Early. These ten he con- 
siders " unimpeachable," and I^o. 6 he considers com- 
bines, in the greatest degree, all desirable quality. With 
these he recommends Nos. 5, 4, 14, 16, 21, 16, 27, 36, and 
32, with several others we have not thought it necessary 
to describe. He ranks them in regard to relative merit 
as the numbers are placed. 

Section 7'. — Select Pltjms. 
1. Autumn Gage^ or Roe^s Autumn Gage. — Medium 



336 SELECT VAKIETIES OF FRUITS. 

size, oval, pale yellow, sweet, juicy and good ; parts from 
the stone ; tree a slow grower, but very productive. — 
Middle to end of September. 

2. BingJiam. — Large and handsome, oval, deep yellow, 
with a few red spots ; juicy and rich ; parts from the 
stone ; tree very productive. — 'Beginning of September. 

3. Bleeker'^s Gage. — Above medium size, roundish oval, 
yellowish ; flesh yellow, juicy, and rich ; parts from 
the stone ; tree a fair grower and productive. — Last of 
August. 

4. Cherry^ or Early Scarlet. — Rather small, round, red, 
very pretty, juicy, soft, sub-acid, adheres to the stone. — 
Last of July. Makes a very ^^retty dwarf bush. 

5. Coe's Golden Drop. — Large and handsome, oval, light 
yellow, flesh firm, rich and sweet ; adheres to the stone ; 
tree a fair grower and very productive, but does not bear 
so young as many others ; valuable not only on account 
of its large size and fine appearance, but its lateness and 
hanging long on the tree. — Last of September. 

6. Columbia. — Large and handsome, roundish, purple, 
flesh yellow, juicy and rich ; parts from the stone ; tree 
vigorous and very productive. — September. 

T. Cruger'^s Scarlet. — Medium size, roundish, reddish 
lilac ; juicy, but not rich ; an extraordinary bearer ; 
always requires thinning ; particularly valuable in light 
soils ; profitable. — September. 

8. Drap cfOr. — A fine golden yellow plum, somewhat 
resembling the old green gage ; very good ; vigorous 
shoots, a little downy. — Early. 

9. Drap d^Or d'^Esperin. — A new Belgian variety, 
resembling the Washington, and probably no better. 
The first trees were sold at Ghent in 1848 at $10 each. 

10. Diamond. — One of the largest and most produc- 
tive of purple plums, but coarse ; only for cooking. — 
September. 



PLL'MS. 337 

11. Dennisoii's Red. — Large, round oval, light red, flesh 
juicj and rich, parts from the stone. — End of August. 

12. Dennison's SujMrh. — Pretty large, beautiful, round, 
yellowish green, with purple dots ; flesh juicy, rich, and 
parts from the stone ; tree vigorous and productive. — End 
of August. 

13. Dttane's Purple. — Yery large and handsome, oval, 
reddish purple ; flesh juicy and sweet, adheres to the 
stone ; tree a good grower and very productive. — Begin- 
ning of September. 

14. Emerald Drop. — Medium size, oval, yellowish 
green ; flesh juicy and good, adheres slightly to the stone ; 
a good grower and profuse bearer. 

15. Felleriberg. — A fine late plum, oval, pur[)le ; flesh 
juicy and delicious, parts from the stone ; flne for drying ; 
tree very productive. — September. 

16. Frost Gage. — Eather small, round, pui-ple ; an im- 
mense bearer ; very late ; profitable for market. — October. 

17. Green Gage. — Small, but of the highest excellence ; 
tree a slow grower. — Middle of August. 

18. German. Prune (Quetsche). — Large, long oval, dark 
purple, blue, free, fine for drying, and good to eat ; grows 
spontaneously in Germany. — September. 

19. Gen. Hand. — One of the largest American varie- 
ties, introduced by Messrs. Sinclair & Corse, Balti- 
more. It is of a golden yellow color, sweet but not high 
flavored. — First of September. Will be valuable for the 
market, as it is very productive, besides being so attrac- 
tive in size and beauty. 

20. Guthrie^s Apricot. — Medium size, yellow, has the 
flavor of the Apricot; of Scotch origin. — End September. 

21. Hxilhufs Super}). — Large and handsome, round, yel- 
lowish green ; flesh juicy, rich and fine flavored, parts 
freely from the stone ; tree grows well and is very produc- 
tive. — Middle of August. 



338 SELECT TAKIETIES OF FKUITS. 

22. Icliwoi'tli Iinjperatrice. — An English late variety, pur- 
ple, flesh juicy, sweet and rich ; may be kept into winter. 

23. Iinjyerial Gage. — Large, oval, greenish ; flesh juicy, 
rich and delicious, parts from the stone ; one of the best 
growers, most productive, and best of plums ; profitable 
for market. — Middle of August. 

24. Ives' Seedling. — Kaised by Mr. J. M. Ives, of Salem, 
Mass.; large, roundish, oblong, yellow, mottled with red, 
melting and rich ; freestone. — First of September. Tree 
a strong, rapid grower. 

25. Jaune Hatwe. — A nice little yellow plum, ripening 
last of July ; earliness is its chief quality. 

26. Jefferson. — A new American variety, of the high- 
est reputation ; yellow, with a red cheek ; flesh orange- 
colored, juicy and rich, parts from the stone ; an excellent 
variety, but we have never seen it suj)erior to the Impe- 
rial Gage. — End of August. 

2Y. Kirks (fi'om England). — A large, fine, violet fruit, 
rich and sugary ; freestone. — September. Shoots stout 
and smooth, like those of the red mag. bon. 

28. LucomVs Nonsuch (English). — A large, roundish, 
greenish plum, nearly as large and as good as the Wash- 
ington. 

29. Lawrence's Favorite. — Large, roundish, yellowish 
green ; flesh juicy, melting, and rich, parts from the 
stone ; tree vigorous and very productive. — Middle and 
end of August. 

30. Lombard. — Medium size, oval, violet red ; flesh 
yellow", juicy, and pleasant ; a great bearer, and said to 
be peculiarly well adapted to light soils. — ^End of August. 
Profitable for market. 

31. Long Scarlet., or Scarlet Gage. — Medium size, ob- 
loug, bright red ; flesh juicy, sweet when fully ripe, 
adheres to the stone ; tree a good grower, and a most 
abimdant bearer. — End of August. 



PLUMS. 339 

32. Magnum JBonum^ Yelloio. — A very large and 
beautiful egg-shaped yellow plum ; a little coarse, but 
excellent for cooking ; tree vigorous and very productive. 
— End of August. Profitable. 

33. Magnum Bonum^ Red.. — Large and beautiful, o^^g 
shaped, violet red ; of second quality, valuable for cook- 
ing ; tree vigorous and productive. — End of August. Pro- 
fitable for market. 

34. 'Mamelonne. — A curious looking, distinct fruit ; 
round, with a neck like a j)ear, greenish, similar in qua- 
lity and season to the green gage ; tree vigorous and j^ro- 
ductive ; new from France. 

35. Mirabelle. — A small, round, yellow plum, very 
prolific and fine for preserving. — August and September. 

36. Mirabelle cVOctohre. — A late variety recently re- 
ceived from France ; very hardy and prolific. 

37. Orange. — One of the largest varieties, oval, yellow, 
rather coarse ; tree vigorous and very productive. — First 
of October. Profitable for market. 

38. Orleans Early. — Medium size, round, purjile ; fiesh 
sweet and good ; tree a great bearer. — Middle of August. 

39. Orleans Smithes. — A very large and excellent va- 
riety, oval, reddish purple, with a thick coat of bloom ; 
flesh yellow, firm, juicy, and rich ; tree vigorous and very 
productive. — Last of August. Profitable for market. 

40. Peach. — A very large and beautiful plum, round- 
ish, dull red; flesh a little coarse ; tree very productive. — 
End of August. 

41. Prime dJ'Agen., or Robe de Sergent. — A new French 
variety, flrst quality for drying ; tree very i^rolific ; 
medium size, purple, sweet, and good. — September. 

42. Picrple Favomte. — Medium size, brownish purple ; 
flesh juicy, melting, and sweet ; one of the very best of 
plums ; tree a slow grower. — Beginning of September. 

43. Purple Gage (Reine Claude Tiolette).— Medium 



old SELPZCT VAEffiTIES OF FEUITS. 

size, roundish, violet, with a blue bloom, rich, sugary, and 
fine ; freestone ; hangs long on the tree, and shrivels in 
ripening : shoots smooth. — September and October. 

44. Jied Diaper (Diapree Rouge, French). — One of 
the finest of all plums, brownish red, dark in the sun, 
freestone. End of August. Hangs long on the tree. This 
is called Mimms in England, and is difierent from the 
Red Diaper of some. 

45. Heine Claude de Bavay (Esperin). — The best new 
foreign variety, as large as the Washington, and in flavor 
equal to the green gage ; roundish, oval, greenish, mark- 
ed with red in the sun ; tree vigorous and remarkably 
productive. — Middle of September. Hangs long on the 
tree. 

46. ScTienectady Catharine. — Rather below medium 
size, purple ; flesh melting, sweet and excellent. — Middle 
of August. It is said to reproduce itself from seed with- 
out variation. 

4Y. St. Marthi's Quetsche (German). — Medium size, 
oval, pale yellow, juicy and rich. — September. Hangs 
long on the tree ; bears the most abundant crops ; fine for 
drying ; very profitable. 

48. TJiomas (of Boston). — Large, roundish, oblong, 
amber colored, juicy and good. — September. Shoots 
stout, a little downy, a great bearer, and very handsome. 

49. Washington. — A magnificent, large plum ; round- 
ish, green, usually marked with red ; juicy, sweet and 
good ; tree vigorous and exceedingly productive ; one of 
the very best. — End of August. 

50. Whiter or Late Damson. — A small, dark purple 
variety, esteemed for preserving. — October. 

51. Yellow Gage. — Large, yellow, oval ; flesh yellow, 
juicy, and rich ; tree remarkably vigorous and produc- 
tive ; an excellent and profitable variety. — Middle of 
August. 



CUEEANTS. 34:1 



SMALL SELECT LISTS OF PLUMS. 

For the Garden.— EoQ. IT, 23, 26, 29, 39, 42, 43, 45, 5. 
For 3farket.—Nos. 16, 23, 32, 33, 39, 49. 
For Drying.— Nos. 15, 18, 41, 47. 



THIRD DIVISION— BERRIES. 
CUEEANTS, GOOSEBEEEIES, EASPBEEEIES STRAWBEEEIES, BEK^ 

beeeies, blackbeeeies, mulbeeeles, geapes, and figs. 
Section 8. — Select Cueeants. 

The currant is a most useful fruit, indeed indispen- 
sable to every garden, large or small ; it fills a space of a 
couple of weeks after the strawberries, raspberries, and 
cherries, and before the apricots, early apples, and pears ; 
and besides this, it possesses such a remarkable combination 
of sweet and acid, as fits it for an almost endless variety 
of useful and agreeable preparations, both in the green 
and ripe state. 

The white varieties are mildest flavored, and, therefore, 
better for using in a raw state when ripe. The red are 
preferable for jellies, etc., on account of their beautifLil 
color. 

1. Black English^ or common black, well known. 

2. Bla/ik Naples. — The largest and best black currant ; 
bears profusely ; valuable for jam and jellies ; bunches 
short, milder flavored, and later than the preceding. 

3. Cherry. — Largest of all currants, exceeding an inch 
in circumference, bunches short, color dark red, ripens 
same time as Eed Dutch, shoots stout, short jointed and 
erect, foliage thick, dark green, slightly folded, and 
bhmtlv and coarse! v sciTated. 



343 SELECT VARIETIES OF FEUITS. 

4. Red Dutch, — A well known variety, bunches three 
inches long or more ; fine. 

5. Red KnigMs Sweet. — Similar to the preceding, but 
of rather a milder acid. 

6. Victoria or HougJiton Castle. — Yery large, bright 
red, bunches five or six inches long ; hangs on the bushes 
after others are gone ; distinguished at once bj its re- 
markably long bunches, and bright red color, and by the 
foliage, which is quite distinct, dark green, coarsely and 
bluntly serrated, quite flat, and frequently reflexed or 
turned backwards at the edges ; the shoots are not so stout 
and erect as those of the cherry. 

7. ^¥ll^te Dutch. — Yellowish white, trans23arent, milder 
than the red, and better for using raw ; excellent. 

8. White Grape. — Larger every way than the preced- 
ing ; the largest white currant ; growth rather spreading, 
foliage thicker, deeper green, and more reflexed. 

9. Missouri Yellow Floivering. — Fine yellow, fragrant 
flowers, and sweet fruit of a violet blue. 

10. Missouri Large Fruited.— L^y^q^ blue, sweet fruit, 
very pleasant. 

The two last are seldom cultivated for the fruit. 

11. Long Bundled Red Dutch (Grosse Eouge de Hol- 
land). — ^This is a variety we received lately from France, 
and it promises to be valuable. There are several sorts 
under cultivation, more or less unworthy of notice, unless 
to those who are making large collections. 

Section 9. — Goosebeeeies. 

The following, from the large English sorts, have all 
proved excellent. 

1. Red. — Albion, Crov/nbob, Echo, Houghton's Bog- 
gart, Ironmonger, Lancashire Red, Prince Regent, Roar- 



EASPBERKIES. 843 

ing Lion, Shakspeare, Sj)ortsman, Top Sawyer, Wiiic- 
beny, Young's Wonderful. 

2. White.— Chorhter, Fleur cle Lis, Leigh's Toper, 
Queen Caroline, Smiling Beauty, Whitesmith, Welling- 
ton's Glory, White Muslin, etc. 

3. Green. — Berrier's Greenwood, Chipendale's Con- 
quering Hero, Green Mountain, Green Yale, Green Wil- 
low, Green Ocean, Lidej^endent, Jolly Cutler, Massey's 
Heart of Oak, Profit. 

4. Yellow. — Bunker Hill, Capper's Early Sulphur, Gol- 
den Drop, Husbandman, etc. 

5. Houghtoii's Seedling. — Kaised in Massachusetts from 
the seed of a native variety ; it is small and rather indif- 
ferent in flavor, but is not subject to the mildew, and 
bears most abundantly, small, oval, dull brownish red. 

The following sorts were recommended by the Pomo- 
loo:ical Cono^ress : Hous^hton's Seedlins:, Whitesmith, 
Crownbob, Ped Chamj^agne, Warrington, Laurel, L'on- 
monger. Early Sulphur, Green Gage, Green Walnut. 

Section 10. — Select Paspberkies. 

1. Antwerp^ Bed. — This is an excellent variety, and 
very popular in market ; three quarters of an acre of land 
on the Hudson, planted with it, have yielded $330 ; and 
three acres in the same locality, $1,500 in one season. 
The berry is large, conical, dark red, rich and juicy ; canes 
have a few small, purple spines. 

2. Antwerp^ Yelloio or White. — Emit large, pale yel- 
low, sweet and rich ; a beautiful and excellent fruit, but 
not so firm and so well adapted to marketing as the pre- 
ceding; canes thickly covered with greenish spines. 

3. Fastolff. — Fruit larger and rounder than the Ped 
Antwerp, but rather softer ; of a purplish red, canes more 
spiny ; very hardy and productive. 



344 SELECT YABIETIES OF FEUITS. 

4. Franco7iia. — Fruit very large, of a purplish red, ra- 
ther darker than the Bed Antwerp or Fastolfl*; canes very 
strong, with a few short purple spines, and thicker, firmer 
and smoother, or less crimped or wrinkled leaves than 
any of the others. 

5. Knevetfs Giant. — This is an English variety of the 
Red Antwerp, from which it differs only in being some- 
what hardier. 

The " Col. Wilder'^^ and " OusJihuf are two seedling 
varieties produced by Dr. Brinkle, of Philadelphia, that 
give promise of superiority, the first especially, which is 
described as a beautiful " cream-colored" fruit and very 
hardy. 

The American Red, White and Black are well known. 

6. Large Fruited Monthly (New). — Large red, bears 
in favorable weather from August to IS^ovember ; canes 
long, rather slender, purplish in the sun, and pretty thickly 
covered with dark purple spines ; cpiite different from the 
" Ohio Everbearing," a worthless variety. 

We saw fruit on this in January, in Mr. Rivers' nur- 
sery, in 1848. If the autumn be dry, the plant should be 
watered occasionally ; and to ensure a good autumn crop, 
the canes should be pruned in spring to within a foot of 
the ground. 



Section 11. — Select Strawbeeeies. 

Those strongly pistillate or deficient in stamens are 
marked (p). 

1. Alpine.^ Red Monthly. — Small, high-flavored variety, 
and higli y^ij^aluable in all collections, on account of bear- 
ing a long time. 

2. Alpine., White Monthly. — As above, except color. 

3. Alpine^ Red Bush. — These have no runners, like 



STKAWBERRIES. 345 

other varieties, and are well adapted to edging walks in 
the kitchen garden. They are small, but of delicious 
flavor, and continue bearing till autumn. 

4. Alpi?ie, White Bush. — Same as above, but in color. 

5. British Queen (Myatt's).— The most magnificent in 
appearance of all strawberries, often measuring six or 
seven inches in circumference ; but it is a shy bearer and 
rather tender ; plant very luxuriant. 

6. Bishop's Orange. — Rather large, light orange scarlet, 
productive and fine flavored (p). 

7. Boston Pine. — Large light red, good, hardy and ex- 
ceedingly productive ; with plenty of room and good cul- 
ture the yield is very great. 

8. Bur^'^s Seedling. — A very prolific medium sized va- 
riety ; hardy and of fair quality ; from Ohio. 

9. Burros New Pine. — Large, light orange, scarlet; 
of the highest and most delicious flavor uniformly ; plant 
hardy and productive ; one of the very best sorts (p). 
Ohio. 

10. Burr'^s Rival Hudson. — Medium size, dark red, 
rather acid; valuable for marketing and preserving; 
hardy and productive (p). Ohio. 

11. Burr'^s Columbus. — Large, hardy and productive; 
flavor medium (p). Ohio. 

12. Burr'^s Scarlet Melting. — A very pretty light scar- 
let fruit, and a most profuse bearer, but very tender ; not 
fit for marketing. 

13. Black Prince. — A large and beautiful fruit, of a 
dark blackish crimson color ; variable in quality ; some 
seasons first rate, others insipid ; hardy and productive (p). 

14. Climax Scarlet. — Medium size, conical, slightly 
necked, light scarlet, rather acid ; bears immense crops (p). 

15. Duke of Kent. — Small, with a long neck ; very pro- 
lific and valuable for its earliness in a large collection. 

16. Genesee.— L^iVgQ^ roundish, dark crimson, good 5 

15^ 



34:6 SELECT VAEIETIES OF FEUITS. 

plant very luxuriant ; fruit stalks very stout, supporting the 
fruit well ; most profuse bearer, rather late. 

17. Hudson. — Medium size, scarlet, firm, acid ; very 
productive, and esteemed for marketing; grown much 
around Cincinnati (p). 

18. Hovey^s Seedling. — A well-known magnificent berry ; 
plant hardy and luxuriant; bears large crops in some 
places and seasons (p). 

19. Jenny's Seedling — Yery large, roundish, dark 
scarlet, flavor medium, plant vigorous, and a moderate 
bearer (p). 

20. Large Early Scarlet. — An excellent standard soi^, 
light scarlet, rather acid; bears uniformly great crops; 
early. 

21. Monroe Scarlet. — Large, roundish, light scarlet, 
good; very prolific; over 100 perfect berries have been 
gathered at once from a single plant (p). 

22. Orange Prolific. — Large, orange scarlet ; rather 
acid, but a great bearer and quite late. 

23. Princess Alice Maud. — A very large and handsome 
English variety ; very productive, but of indifferent flavor. 

24. Prolific Hautbois. — -A large, purplish, conical fruit, 
with a peculiar musky flavor, very productive ; plant 
grows tall and luxuriant, with peculiar crimped foliage, and 
has very large, showy blossoms ; a distinct species ; late. 

25. Swainstone'' s Seedling. — A very large and beautiful 
fruit, of the most delicious flavor; color light shining 
scarlet, ripens gradually ; a poor bearer ; English. 

26. Scotch Pine Ap^le^ or Crimson Cone. — One of the 
most beautiful varieties in appearance ; medium size, uni- 
form, regularly conical, rich dark crimson ; seeds deeply 
imbedded, giving the surface a rasp-like appearance; 
rather acid but good, and very productive. 

Nos. 7, 9, 18 and 20 are the best for general cultivation; 
for a larger collection, E"os. 5, 17 and 25, besides the 



BLxiCKBEERIES. 317 

alpines, may be added ; i^os. 14, 16, 21, 22 are new seed- 
lings j)rodueed here that promise well. 

The w^ood and alpines should be renewed from seed 
frequently. 



Section 12. — Bekbereies. 
epin.-yinette of the frexch. 

CoTYitnon lied. — This is everywhere well known : 2:rown 
not only for the fruit, which is used for preserves, jellies and 
pickles, but for ornament. The bright scarlet oval fruit is 
borne in rich clusters, and hang on till late in the autumn. 

Sioeet-Fruited (Berberis dulcis). — ^The fruit of this is 
much less acid than the common. The plant is not so 
vigorous. 

Besides these, there are several species and varieties 
cultivated chiefly for ornament : The Wliite-fTuited^ The 
Yiolet-fruited^ The Yariegated-leaved^ foliage marked 
with yellow ; The Purple-leamd^ the most unique and 
ornamental of all, with beautiful violet-purple foliage. 

They are all easily propagated by layers or suckers, and 
the rare sorts by grafting. 



Section 13. — Blackberries. 

The Imp7vved High Bush. — ^This Blackberry is begin- 
ning to receive considerable attention. The Massachu- 
setts Horticultural Society has offered large premiums to 
encourage its culture, and the result already has been 
great improvement. Ca])t. Lovett, of Beverly, has pre- 
sent specimens an inch and a half long. It bids fair to 
become a valuable and popular fruit. The berry is long, 
egg-shaped, shining black, juicy, and rich, the plant erect. 



348 SELECT VARIETIES OF FKUITS. 

blossoms white, ripens at a most timely season, after tlio 
Raspberry. 

Section 14. — Mulbeekies. 

Black. — ^This is a native of Persia, and is really the 
only one valuable for its fruit. The berry is an inch and 
a half long, and nearly an inch in diameter, black, suc- 
culent, sugary and rich. The tree is highly ornamental, 
very erect, with a large spreading head. The leaves 
appear late in spring, are large, heart-shaped, sometimes 
lobed, deep green, and form a dense shade. 

Section 15. — Geapes. 
select haeuy geapes. 

1. Catawba. — ^This is the best flavored of all native 
grapes that ripen as far north as lat. 43 deg., and is con- 
sidered the best yet discovered for making wine. Bunches 
large ; berries large, red, becoming a coppery color when 
ripe ; juicy, sweet, and musky ; hardy, and very pro- 
ductive. 

2. Clinton. — A very hardy, native variety, resembling 
in foliage the common Fox Grape. Bunches small and 
very compact ; berries rather small, black, juicy, inferior 
in flavor to the preceding. It ripens here two or three 
weeks before the Isabella or Catawba, and this is its chief 
value ; very productive. 

3. Diana. — Tliis is a variety that originated near Boston, 
similar to the Catawba ; not quite so large, but earlier and 
better adapted to the north. 

4. Isabella. — This is the most popular variety. It ripens 
well in almost every part of the country, and bears 
in.mense crops under the most ordinary management. 



GEAPES. 349 

Bunches long and large ; berries large, oval, black, juicy, 
sweet, slightly musky. 



SELECT FOKEIGN GRAPES. 

1. Black Cluster. — Small, roundish oval, black, sweet 
and good ; bunches small, very compact ; one of the 
hardiest and best for open air culture ; early. 

2. Black Prmce. — Large, oval, black ; bunches long, 
rather open ; sweet and fine ; a profuse bearer. 

3. Black Frontignan. — Berries medium size, round, 
black, bunches long ; flavor rich and musky ; prolific. 

4. Black Hamburg. — A fine grape, and a general 
favorite for the vinery ; bunches are large, very much 
shouldered — tliat is, branched ; berries large, deep black, 
sweet and rich. 

5. Chctsselas cle Fontainhleau. — This is esteemed the 
finest table grape in France, and succeeds admirably here 
in vineries, and occasionally in the open air. Bunches 
large, somewhat shouldered ; berries large, round, greenish 
white, becoming slightly colored or reddened in the sun ; 
canes stout, of a yellowish color ; leaves large and shining ; 
very productive. The Golden Chasselas is very similar 
to, if not identical with this. 

6. Grizzly Frontignan. — This is one of the most deli- 
cious grapes when grown in the vinery, and very beau- 
tiful too. Bunches long, slightly shouldered ; berries 
medium size, round, colored red and violet-purple in the 
sun ; rich, musky flavor. 

7. White Frontignan (Muscat Blanc of the French). — 
One of the oldest varieties ; bunches pretty large ; berries 
roundish, changing from green to amber as they ripen in 
the sun ; rich and quite musky ; later than the preceding. 

8. White Muscat of Alexandria. — ^This is a most deli- 
cious variety, considered the same as the imported 



350 SELECT VARIETIES OF FKUITS. 

" Malaga." Bunches large, branched and loose ; berries 
large, oval, white, becoming amber; firm and rich, with 
a high musky flavor ; growth vigorous ; leaves shining 
and deeply lobed. 

9. White Sweetwater. — ^This and the Black Clustei- are 
the most common foreign varieties in this country. 
Bunches of good size, open; berries of medium size, 
round, green, becoming slightly colored in the sun ; sweet 
and watery ; occasionally produced in tolerable perfection 
in the open air. 

The Pomological Congress at 'New York, in 1849, 
recommend for culture under glass, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 

Section 16. — Figs. 

Yery little is known here from ex]3erience of the par- 
ticular qualities of the different kinds of figs. Several 
varieties have been tested, and are grown successfully in 
the Boston graperies. The varieties most desirable for 
out-door culture for their hardiness are : 

The Brmvn Turl^ey. — Large, oblong, pear-shaped ; skin 
dark, brownish purple ; flesh red, leaves large. 

Black Ischia. — Medium size, roundish, dark violet, 
nearly black ; flesh deep red, sweet and fine. This is one 
of the most productive varieties. 

Violette de Bordeaux (Figue poire de. Bordeaux. — 
Large, long, pear-shaped, brownish red ; flesh reddish, 
medium quality ; extensively cultivated about Paris for 
its productiveness and hardiness. 

White Marseilles. — Small, roundish, nearly white ; flesh 
white ; not quite so hardy as the preceding sorts, but 
very productive ; one of the most abundant in the Paris 
markets. 

Upwards of forty varieties are described in the London 



CHESTNUTS. Col 

Horticultural Society's catalogue ; fifteen are described in 
Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees. 



FOURTH DIVISION.— ALMONDS, CHESTNUTS, FILBERTS, AND 
WALNUTS. 

Section IT. — Almonds. 

1. Sweet Hard Shell. — This is a hardy and productive 
variety, succeeding well in the climate of Western 'New 
York, and still farther north. Nut very large, with a hard 
shell and a large sweet kernel ; ripe here about the first 
of October. 

The tree is very vigorous, has smooth glaucous leaves, 
and when in bloom in the spring, is more brilliant and 
showy than any other fruit tree. 

2. Soft Sweet Shell, Ladies' Thin Shell, etc.—ToA^ is 
the almond of the shops, of which such immense quan- 
tities are annually imported from abroad. It and all its 
sub-varieties, as far as we know, are too tender for our 
northern climate, unless carefully grown on a wall or 
trellis, and pi'otected. South of Virginia, we believe, it 
succeeds well ; and so beautiful a tree, and so estimable 
a fruit, deserve the attention of all fruit growers. 

3. The Bitter AI?7io?kI. - "Tlim is hardy and jDroductive ; 
nut similar to No. 1 in appearance, but bitter, and only 
useful in confectionery or medicine. Its chief product i3 
the prussic acid of the druggists. 

Section 18. — Chestnuts. 

The American or Common Chestnut is well known 
as one of our most beautiful forest trees. It is seldom 
grown as a fruit tree, although the fruit is highly es- 
teeme \ 



352 SELECT VARIETIES OF FETJITS. 

It should have a place in all large collections of stand- 
ard fruit trees. It reproduces itself from seed. 

The Dwarf Chestnut or Chinqucipin^ is a small tree 
eight or ten feet high, and very prolific, but the nuts are 
small. It grows sj^ontaneously in Maryland, Yirginia, 
and southward. 

The Spanish Chestnut or Marron. — This is the large, 
sweet nut, as large as a horse chestnut, imported from 
abroad. There are many varieties cultivated in France 
and England, but that designated by the French as 
'' Marron de Lyon^^ is the best. It is propagated by 
grafting on the common sorts. It is not reproduced truly 
from seed, but its seedlings produce large and fine fruits. 
It bears and ripens well as far north as Rochester. It 
bears the second year from the graft and the fourth from 
seed. 

Section 19. — Filbeets. 

1. Cosford. — ^This is an improved variety of the Eng- 
lish hazel-nut, very prolific, nut large, oblong or oval, 
shell thin, and kernel fine flavored. 

2. Coburg. — Large and fine, and a most abundant 
bearer. 

3. Dwarf Prolific. — One of the most prolific bearers, 
nut rather small. We have plants two feet high bear- 
ing well, kernel good. 

4. Frizzled. — Remarkable for its curious frizzled husk, 
a good bearer, and one of the finest flavored. 

5. Hed Shhmed. — One of the old standard sorts of the 
English growers, distinguished by the bright red or crim- 
son skin of the kernel, medium size, egg-shaped, shell 
thick, flavor good. 

6. White. — This is also an old standard sort, the kernel 
is a yellowish white. Both this and the preceding have 
lono^ husks. 



WALNUTS. 353 



Section 20. — Walnuts. 

The English or Madeira N%d (Jiiglans Regia). — This is 
a native of Persia. A lofty spreading tree witli j^innated 
leaves like the butternut, and the fruit nearly as large. 
Great quantities are annually imported, and sold in the 
fruit shops. 

Tlie tree is tender while young, the ends of the young 
shoots being injured in winter at the north, but as it 
grows older it becomes hardier. It is produced from 
seed or by grafting. There are many varieties of it cul- 
tivated abroad, few of which have yet been introduced 
here on account of the little attention given to this class 
of fruits. 

The Dioarf ProliJiG Walmtt (Juglans Prseparturiens), 
is a French variety recently introduced, which will pro- 
bably become the most desirable for the garden. It bears 
at the age of three years from the seed, and often at the 
height of two to three feet. We have now two imported 
trees, four feet high, that give promise of an abundant 
crop. The kernel is said to be very good. 

Our native sorts, the Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra), 
the Butternut (Juglans Cinerea), the Hickory Nut (Carya), 
and its varieties, are all well known trees that deserve 
much more attention than they receive, considering the 
value of their timber as well as fruit. 



CHAPTEK II. 

GATHERING, PACKIT^TG, TKANSPOETATIOIT AND PRE- 
SERVATION OF FRUITS. 

This is a brancli of the general subject of fruit culture 
and management that requires the most careful attention ; 
for it is quite useless to take pains in producing fine fruits, 
without taking equal pains in gathering, preserv^ing, and 
sending them to the table or the market in a sound, 
sightly, and proper condition. Yerj few fruit growers 
seem to appreciate this part of their business. Fruit 
dealers at home and abroad complain of the careless and 
slovenly manner in which our fruits are gathered, packed, 
and presented in the market, and would gladly pay a dou- 
ble price for them in a better condition. The first con- 
sideration is — 

The period of maturity at loliich fruits should he 
gathered. — The stone fruits generally are allowed to reach 
perfect maturity, or within four or five days of it, on the 
tree. 

In moist, cool seasons particularly, they are benefited 
by being gathered a few days before maturity, and allow- 
ed to ripen in a dry, warm room ; they part with the 
water contained in their juices, which thus become better 
elaborated and more sugary and high flavored. 

Summer Pears^ too, on the same principle, require to 
be gathered, as a general thing, from a week to a fort- 
night before their maturity. Sweet varieties, and sucli as 



GATHEKING FEriTS, ETC. daO 

are inclined to become mealy ^ are entirely worthless wlien 
ripened on the tree, and many very excellent varieties 
are condemned on this acconnt. Snch as these should be 
gathered the moment the skin begins to change color in 
least degree. 

SumDiCt' Apples^ too, and especially those inclined to 
viealiness^ shoidd be picked early ; as soon as the skin 
begins to change color, otherwise they part with their 
juices, and become worthless. Ripeness is indicated by 
the seeds turning dark colored, and by the stem parting 
readily from the tree when it is lifted upwards. 

Winter Ajyples and Pears should be allowed to remain 
on the trees as long as vegetation is active, or until frosts 
are apprehended. 

Grapes^ Berries^ <&c.^ are allowed to attain perfect 
maturity before being gathered. 

Chestnuts^ Filherts^ <&c.^ are not gathered until they 
begin to fall from the tree. 

Mode of Gathering. — Unless it be a few specimens 
wanted for immediate use, which may be taken with some 
of the contrivances mentioned under the head of imple- 
ments, all fruits should be gathered by the hand. The 
branch to be gathered from should be taken in one hand, 
and the fruits carefully taken off, one by one, with the other, 
with their stems attached. (For fruits neither keep so well, 
nor look so well, without the stems.) They are then laid 
carefully in single layers in broad shallow baskets, the bot- 
toms of which should be covered with paper or moss, to 
prevent bruises. Peaches and other soft fruits should be 
pressed as lightly as possible, for anything like a squeeze 
is certainly followed by decay in the form of a brown 
spot, and this is the reason why it is so exceedingly diffi- 
cult to find a perfectly souiid and at the same time ri2?e 
peach in our markets. 

When more than one layer of fruit is laid in the same 



S56 GATIIEEING FEUITS, ETC. 

basket, some soft paper, dry moss, liay, or other material, 
ought to separate them, for it is difficult to place one layer 
immediately upon another, and especially if the fruits are 
approaching maturity, without bruising them more or less. 
Fruit should only be gathered in dry weather, and in the 
dry time of the day. 

Disposition of the Fruits after gathering. — When they 
are thus in the baskets, if summer fruits, they are either 
carried into the fruit room and arranged on shelves or 
tables in thin layers, or they are carefully transferred one 
by one into market baskets and carried to market on an 
easy spring w^agon, if not by steamboat or railroad, by 
which jarring or jolting will be avoided. Treated in this 
manner, they will be in a marketable condition, and one 
basket will sell for as much as four, carelessly picked, 
thrown into baskets, and tumbled out of them into a barrel 
or wagon-box. 

Eipe fruits may be kept in good condition for a consi- 
derable period of time, in an ice-house, or in some of the 
recently-invented fruit preservers, and even in very cool 
dry cellars. The vessels in which they are deposited, 
should be perfectly clean, that no unpleasant flavor may 
be imparted to them. Peaches have been sent to the East 
Indies, by being properly packed in ice ; and it may be 
that methods of packing and preserving will, before long, 
be discovered, that will give us access to the markets of 
other countries, even for our perishable summer fruits. 
We have seen Seckel pears in a very good state of preser- 
vation in January, exhibited in the horticultural society's 
rooms in Boston. The science of ripening and preserving 
fruits is but in its infancy, and horticultural societies 
that have the means will be doing a great public service 
by offering liberal premiums that will incite to experiment 
on the subject. 

Winter Fruits intended for long keeping are transferred 



ETC. 357 

by hand from the baskets in which they are gathered on 
the tree, into larger ones in which they can be carried into 
a dry cool room, where they are laid in heaps, which may 
be three or four deep, where they may remain for a couple 
of weeks, during which time they will have parted with 
considerable moisture and be quite dry. They will then 
be fit for packing. 

Clean, new barrels should be procured, and the fruits 
should be carefully assorted. For shipping to distant or 
foreign markets, tlie hest only should be selected; all 
bruised, wormy, knotty specimens being laid aside for 
home consumption. They are then placed in the barrels, 
by hand, arranged regularly in layers, so that no spaces 
will exist, by which the fruits may shift, roll, or knock 
against one another. The barrels are then tightly headed 
up, so that the head presses firmly on the fruits ; some 
people recommend placing a layer of clean moss or soft 
paper, both on the bottom and top of the barrel ; but this 
is not necessary where the packing and heading are per- 
formed carefully. After packing, the barrels must be 
sent to market in such a manner as never to be jolted or 
rolled, any more than they would be on men's shoulders, 
or an easy spring wagon or sled, or by a water convey- 
ance. 

On shipboard the barrels should be placed in the coolest 
and dryest place. It is perfectly idle to gather, pack or 
ship fruits in any other way than this to foreign markets. 
American apples are frequently sold in Liverpool at auction 
for half what they would have sold for in ISTew York, on 
account of their bad condition. I saw this in 1849, when 
Newtown pippins were selling at twelve and a half cents 
a-piece in the fruit shops. 

Winter fruits for home consiirwption should be care- 
fully assorted, keeping the best, the poorest, the sound, 
the bruised^ and the earlier and later ripening varieties 



358 GATHERING FKUITS, ETC. 

all separate ; when sound and bruised, early and late, are 
all thrown together promiscuously, they cannot fail to 
decay speedily and to lose their flavor ; for two or three 
decaying apples in a heap or barrel will taint the flavor 
of all, and hasten the decay of those around them. This 
arrangement into grades and classes is, therefore, absolute- 
ly necessary even for the fruits needed for family use ; and 
when they are so arranged, the sound, long keepers are put 
into clean, new barrels, carefully by hand, and the barrels 
headed up tightly and placed in a cool dry cellar or fruit 
room. The bruised ones can be laid in a place by them- 
selves for immediate use. Every barrel, when packed, 
should be marked. 

Winter Pears, as a general thing, require to be brought 
into a warm temperature one or two weeks before they 
are wanted for table use. All the baking and stewing, 
and even many of the table varieties, may be treated 
exactly like apples. 

Packing Pears for distant markets. — The French send 
away more pears to foreign markets than any other peo- 
ple. Some small importations of their winter sorts have 
actually been made by some of the I^ew York fruit 
dealers the present winter, 1850-51. They pack them in 
small boxes, either round or square, such as a man can 
lift and carry easily in his hands. 

They cover the bottom and sides with very dry moss 
or soft dry paper, well calculated to absorb moisture. 
They then wrap each fruit in the dry, soft paper, and lay 
them in layers, the largest and least mature in the bottom, 
and fill all the interstices with dry moss or paper. I have 
seen these boxes opened in London, in the finest con- 
dition, after being a month packed. They are so tightly 
packed that the slightest movement cannot take place 
among them, and yet no one pr;j.-scs upon another. The 



PEESEEVATION OF FEUTTS. 350 

dry moss and paper that separate them, absorb any mois- 
ture ; and if one decays it does not affect others. 

Some of the Paris confectioners and restaurant keepers 
preserve fruits very successfully in barrels, packed in lay- 
ers, and the interstices filled up with powdered charcoal. 
The barrels are kept in a dry, cool place, about forty 
degrees, where they are not subjected to changes of tem- 
perature. Apples, pears, grapes, almonds, nuts, and pota- 
toes, are all preserved in this manner. 

Fruit Itooms. — A fruit room is a structure set apart 
exclusively for the preservation of fruit. Its great requi- 
sites are, perfect security from moisture or dampness, ex- 
clusion from light, and a uniform temperature. If these 
points are obtained, no matter where, how, or of what 
material the fruit room be constructed. It may be built 
of stone, brick, clay, or wood, above or below ground, as 
circumstances or taste may dictate. 

A good, dry, and cool cellar, is as good a place for 
keeping fruit in as can be ]3rovided ; but the great objec- 
tion to cellars used for other purposes is, that currents of 
air are frequently admitted, and too much light, by which 
the temperature is changed, decay promoted, or the fruits 
dried and shrivelled. There are, also, other objects that 
unavoidably saturate the air more or less with moisture. 

Where a fruit room is built on the surface of the ground, 
it should be on the ice-house principle of double walls and 
doors, to prevent access of either heat or cold from with- 
out. A good cellar or cave, built in a dry, sandy, or 
gravelly bank, or side hill, will answer every purj^ose. 
The walls may be of stone, brick, or timber ; the roof should 
be thick, with a slope sufficient to throw off water freely, 
and the earth about should also be so graded that water 
will flow away as fast as it falls. Provision may be 
made for lighting and ventilating in the roof, and the 
door or doors should be double. 



360 PRESERVATION OF FRUITS. 

The interior should be fitted up with shelves and binns, 
with places for barrels or other articles, in which fruits 
are packed. 

Attention to fndts in the cellar or fruit room. — The 
decay of fruits is caused either by bruises or by a fungus, 
or species of mildew, that increases rapidly and attacks 
all the sound fruits within its reach. It is, therefore, 
necessary to examine fruits frequently, and remove all 
that show any symptoms of decay, before they have 
either affected others or tainted the atmosphere of the 
room. 



CHAPTER III. 

DISEASES AI^^D INSECTS. 

Section 1. — Diseases. 

1. The Fire Blight of the Pear^ Ajpjple^ and Quince. — 
This is one of the most formidable diseases to which fruit 
trees are liable. "Whether it is caused by the sun, the 
atmosphere, or an insect, remains in doubt, some cases 
favoring one opinion, some another. It attacks the trees 
at different j)eriods of the growing season, from June to 
September, and generally in the young parts first ; the 
leaves flag, the sap becomes thick and brown, oozing out 
in globules through the bark, and emitting a very dis- 
agreeable odor, and the diseased branch or part turns 
black, as if it were burned by fire. When the pear tree 
is attacked it is difiicult to save it, the disease spreads so 
rapidly. In the apple and quince it is less fatal, rarely 
killing more than a portion of the tree even if left to its 
own course. The only remedy is, to cut away instantly 
the blighted parts, into the sound wood, where there is 
not the slightest trace of the disease, and burn them up 
immediately. 

It is thought by some that young trees growing very 
rapidly are more subject to it than older trees growing 
slowly ; and that warm sunshine, with a sultry atmosphere 
after rain, is apt to be followed by much blight. We 
have always regarded the cases favoring such an opinion 
as accidental. 

16 



6b-2 DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

2. I^ear leaf Bligld. — ^This disease has already been 
alluded to in treating of j)ear seedlings. It is a sort of 
rust that appears on the leaves in July or August, first as 
small brown spots ; these spread rapidly over the leaves 
until they are completely dried up and growth stopped. 
It appears in a certain spot as a centre, from which it 
spreads. Whether it be an insect, a fungus, or some 
atmospherical cause that produces th!s blight, is unknown. 
Certain cases favor one or other of these opinions. More 
minute investigations are wanted on the subject. 

To avoid its evil effects as far as possible, the great 
point is, to get a rapid, vigorous growth, before midsum- 
mer, when it usually appears. Seedlings grown in new 
soils do not appear to be so much aifected as in old. 
"Where stocks are affected very early in the season, they 
become almost worthless, on account of the feebleness 
produced in both stem and roots by such an untimely and 
unnatural check. Some special applications, such as coal 
cinders, iron filings, copperas, etc., have been suggested, 
but no evidence has yet been produced of their efficacy. 

3. Tlie Gum in stone fricits. — ^The cherry, plum, apricot, 
and peach, are all more or less subject to this malady. 
The cherry is particularly liable to it in the West. It is 
produced by different causes, such as a wet soil, severe 
pruning, pruning at an improper time, violet changes of 
temperature, etc. The gumming of the cherry in the 
West, is considered by some to be owing in a great mea- 
sure to the bark not yielding naturally to the growth of 
the vrood, and hence they practise longitudinal incisions 
on it. The cherry tree has a very powerful bark, and in 
some cases it may not yield naturally to the expansion or 
growth of the wood. We have seen about a foot of the 
trunk of a cherry tree, several inches smaller than the 
parts both above and below it. The bark was 
as smooth as glass ou it, the first rind being unbroken, 



DISEASES. 363 

whilst on the large parts this was quite rough. This was 
a case arising from the obstinacy of the bark, and could 
only be remedied by longitudinal incisions on the small 
part. 

It is most probable that the extent and severity of this dis- 
ease in the West is owino; to violent chan2:es from a hard frost 
to a bright sun and rapid thaw, by which the sap becomes 
deranged, and accumulates in masses. Trees that are 
branched near the ground, will be less likely to suffer 
than those with tall bare trunks. Where it has made 
some progress in any tree, the only remedy is to pare off 
the diseased bark, clean off all the gum, and let the sur- 
face dry up ; then apply a plaster of grafting compo- 
sition, or a solution of gum shellac in alcohol, put on 
wdth a brush, as recommended by Mr. Downing. 

When the stone fruits are pruned severely in the sj)ring, 
the sap does not find sufficient vent; it accumulates in 
masses and bursts the bark. This fact should always be 
kept in view in pruning, and a sufiicient supply of active 
buds be left to absorb the sap. 

4. Hie Yelloivs in the Feach.—Thi^ is supposed to 
arise from negligent cultivation. It exhibits itself in a 
yellow, sickly foliage, feeble shoots, and small fruits pre- 
maturely ripened. It is said to be contagious. Trees 
exhibiting these symptoms should instantly be destroyed. 
To avoid it, care should be taken to propagate from trees 
in perfect health and vigor. 

5. Mildew on the Peach. — The young shoots, leaves, 
and even the fruit of certain varieties, and especially the 
glandless ones, such as Early A?ine, Early TiUotson^ etc., 
are attacked by this. The only remedies are, to give the 
trees a dry, good soil, that wdll keep them in a vigorous 
condition, and to syringe freely twice a day w^hen it begins 
to appear. The gooseberry suffers seriously from the mil- 
dew, owdng mainly to the heat of our summers. In 



864: DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

Northern ISTew York, in Maine, Vermont, and Lower 
Canada, the finest large English varieties are brought to 
greater perfection than in warmer districts, and with good 
culture almost come up to the English standard. In a 
cold, damp-bottomed soil at Toronto, almost on a level 
with Lake Ontario, fine crops are produced with compara- 
tively little difficulty from mildew or rust. This would 
indicate as a remedy, a cool soil and situation, and mulch- 
ing the roots to keep them cool. The plants should be 
renewed every three or four years, and they should be 
kept vigorous by liberal manuring and good culture. 

6. The Plum Wart 07' Black Knot. — The cause of this 
disease is quite uncertain, but the probability is that it 
originates in a similar way to the gum, from an imperfect 
circulation of the sap, induced by violent changes of tem- 
j^erature.'^ Cutting out the diseased branch clean to the 
sound wood, the moment the knots begin to appear, is an 
efiectual remedy, and they should all be burnt up. We 
have saved trees six inches in diameter, that were affected 
on the trunk so seriously, that one third of its thickness 
had to be removed to get below the disease. After it was 
cut out, we applied a j^laster of grafting composition, 
covered it with a cloth, and in two years it was all healed 
over and sound. 

Plum trees are so neglected in the country, that multi- 
tudes of them are now standing literally loaded with these 
warts — not even an inch of any branch free from them — 
the most disgusting objects in the way of fruit trees that 
can possibly be imagined. 

6. The C^irl of the leaf in the Peach. — This disease 
causes the leaves to assume a reddish color, to become 

* We have observed that cold v\^eather, about the blossoming period, in- 
duces the gum in plum trees as well as in the peach, and v^'hen it continues 
long, as in 1849-50 in Western Nevi^ York, there is an unusual development 
of it. 



INSECTS. 365 

thick, curled, and defoiined, and finally to perish. It is 
supposed by many to be caused by insects ;* but it is 
really induced by a sudden change of weather. 

A number of warm days, that cause the expansion of 
the young leaves, followed by a cold rainy day, is almost 
sure to produce it to some extent ; and the more severe 
and protracted the cold, the more extensive and fatal it is. 
The peach trees in Western 'New York suffered more from 
this in 1849-50 than in the ten years previous, owing to 
a protracted cold time in each season after the young 
tender leaves had expanded. In both these seasons the 
check was so severe, as not only to produce this disease in 
its worst form, but the gum also ; for the sap not being 
absorbed by the leaves, became stagnant, sour, and cor- 
roded, and burst the bark. Trees in sheltered gardens 
suffer less than those in exj)Osed orchards. There is no 
possible way of guarding against this ; and the only 
remedy known to us is, to pick off the diseased leaves the 
moment the weather changes, that new healthy ones may 
be produced. 

Section 2. — The Pkincipal Insects iNjrEiors to Feuit 

Trees. 

1. Aphis or PlantyLouse, — ^There are several kinds of 
these. The two most troublesome to fruit trees are the 
green and black, small soft insects that a^^pear suddenly 
in immense quantities on the young shoots of the trees, 
suck their juices, and consequently arrest their growth. 
The apple, pear and cherry, are especially infested with 
them. They multiply with wonderful rapidity. It is said 
that one individual in five generations might be the pro- 
genitor of six thousand millions. "Were it not that they 

* Prof, Harris says in his Treatise on Insects, that it is caused by plant- 
lice puncturing the under sides of the leaves. 



366 DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

are easily destroyed, they would present an obstacle almost 
insufferable in tlie propagation and culture of trees. 

There are many ways of accomplishing their destruc- 
tion. Our plan is to prepare a barrel of tobacco juice, 
by steeping stems for several days until the juice is a 
dark brown, like strong beer ; we then mix this with a 
solution of soft soap or soap suds. A pail is filled with 
this, and the ends of the shoots where the insects are 
assembled are brought down and dipped into the liquid. 
One dip is enough. Such parts as cannot be dipped are 
sprinkled liberally. It is apj)lied to the heads of large 
trees by means of a hand or garden syringe. It should 
be done in the evening. The liquid may be so strong as 
to injure the foliage, hence it will be well for persons 
using it the first time to test it on one or two subjects 
before applying it extensively. This application must be 
repeated as often as any of the aphides make their appear- 
ance. The dry weather of midsummer is generally the 
time most favorable for their ajDpearance. 

2. The Woolly Aphis or American flight. — This is a 
small insect, covered with a white woolly substance that 
conceals its body. They infest the apple tree in particu- 
lar, both roots and branches, living upon the sap of the 
bark, and producing small warts or granulations on it by 
the punctures. They are more particularly troublesome 
on old rough-barked trees, as they lodge in the crevices, 
and are difiicult to reach. The wind carries them from 
one place to another by the light down in which they are 
enveloped, and thus they spread quickly from one end of 
a plantation to the other. I^Tot a moment should be lost 
in destroying the first one that makes its appearance. 
Where the bark is rough it should be scraped smooth, if 
the roots be afiected the earth should be removed, and 
every part washed, and every crevice filled with the fol- 
lowing preparation, recommended in Harris's Treatise : 



INSECTS. 367 

" Two parts of soft soap and eight of water, mixed with 
lime enougli to bring it to the consistency of thick white- 
w^ash, to be pnt on with a brush." A solution of two 
pounds of potash in seven quarts of water will answer 
the same purpose. Fresh earth should be put upon the 
roots. 

3. TJiG Scaly Aphis or Bark Louse. — This is a dark 
brown scale insect, that infests the bark of the apple tree. 
They are of a dark brown color just like the bark, r.nd 
are not easily seen unless looked for. They attach them- 
selves closely to the bark, and sometimes are so numerous 
as to form a complete coating. They seldom appear on 
thrifty growing trees in good soil ; but where the soil is 
damp and cold, and the trees growing feebly, this insect 
may be looked for. June is the time to destroy them, 
when they are young. At other times they are hard, and 
able to resist any ordinary remedy. The same applica- 
tion recommended for the aphis, applied to them with a 
hard brush, will effect their destruction. "Where they 
have been left for a long time undisturbed, and have 
pretty well covered the tree, the quickest and best remedy 
is to destroy tree and all^ unless it possesses some extraor- 
dinary claim for indulgence. Prof. Hams mentions 
having found a reddish brown bark louse on his grape- 
vine, arranged in rows one behind another in the crevices 
of the bark. 

4. The Aj)ple Tree Borer is a very troublesome insect 
in some sections of the country. In Western Kew 1 ork 
we have never met with it but in two or three instances, 
in very old, neglected orchards, that had stood for twenty 
years in grass. The beetle is striped brown and white, 
and is about three-fourths of an inch long. It deposits its 
eggs in June, in the bark of the trees near the ground. 
Here the larva is hatched, becoming a whitish grub, 
which saws its way into the tree, perforating it in all 



368 DISEASES ANT> INSECTS. 

directions, sometimes completely girdling it. The most 
effectual method to destroy them is, to insert the end of a 
wire into their burrow, and killing them. The same 
means are taken to guard against them as against the 
peach tree grub, viz., placing a mound of ashes around 
the base of the trunk in the spring, and allowing it to 
remain until after the season in which the beetles deposit 
their eggs. It prevents them from reaching the soft bark 
at the surface of the ground, the place usually selected. 
It is stated in Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees, that "the 
beetles may be destroyed in June by building small fires 
of shavings in different parts of the orchard." 

5. The Apple Worm. — The apple moth deposits its 
eggs in the eye or calyx of the young fruit ; the grub is 
there hatched, and eats its way into the fruit, leaving be- 
hind it a brownish j)owder. Sometimes the apples drop 
before they are half grown, and occasionally remain until 
they acquire a premature ripeness. Early apjDles are more 
affected, generally, than late ones, probably because in a 
more forward state when the eggs are deposited. 

When the fruit falls the grub immediately leaves, pre- 
pares itself a place in some crevice of the bark of the tree, 
and spins a thin paper-like cocoon, in which it spends the 
winter, to come out the following spring and reproduce it- 
self. There are but two ways of destroying them ; one is, 
at pruning time in March, to search carefully for the 
cocoons and destroy them, and the other is to pick up 
promptly all fallen wormy fruits and destroy them. These 
two means, industriously followed, will greatly diminish 
the amount of wormy fruit, the increase of which is excit- 
ing alarm. 

6. The CcmJcer Worm.— This insect is confined chiefly 
to Kew England ; we have never seen it in 'New York. 

They generally emerge from the ground in March. 
According to Professor Harris, some rise during the late 



INSECTS. 369 

autumn and winter months. The female has no wino-s, 
but crawls up the tree, and lays her eggs on the branches 
in May, in clusters of 60 to 100 in each, glued to each 
other and to the bark by a greyish varnish impervious to 
water ; the little worms fall upon the leaves, and, when 
numerous, devour them all, leaving only the mid-ribs. 
They leave the trees when about four weeks old, and 
descend into the ground. Their effects are most visible in 
June, when the trees, divested of their foliage, aj)pear as 
if scorched by fire. 

As the female cannot fly, the great point is to prevent 
her from crawling up; for this purpose various means 
have been tried and are recommended. One of the most 
effectual is to tie strips of canvas around the tree and cover 
it with tar, renewing the tar during their whole season of 
rising, or from October till May. Another is, to make a 
close fitting collar of boards around the base of the tree, 
and keep them covered with tar. Mr. Jonathan Dennis, of 
Portsmouth, Khode Island, obtained a patent for a circular 
leaden trough filled with oil, which proves an effectual 
preventive. 

7. Caterjnllars. — Of these there are many kinds that are 
more or less destructive to the foliage of fruit trees ; but 
the Caterpillar, described by Professor Harris as the 
American Tent Catei'jDillar, is the one that commits such 
general and extensive devastation in our orchards, and 
especially in certain seasons. The moth deposits its eggs 
in July, in large rings, on the branches of the trees ; 
these remain in that state until the following season, when 
they are hatched in the latter end of May or beginning of 
June. Each ring produces three or four hundred cater- 
pillars, and these weave a sort of web to live in. The ap- 
pearance of a tree with three or four of these tents upon 
it, and the leaves completely devoured, is really frightful. 
There are two ways of destroying them : one is, to examine 



370 DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

the trees carefully in February or March, at pruning time, 
and destroy the clusters of eggs by cutting off and burn- 
ing the branches on which they are found. The next is 
to destroy the caterpillars in their tents after they are 
hatched. There are various ways of doing this, according 
to people's fancy and ingenuity. The quickest and most 
effectual method is to take a ladder, ascend the trees, and 
remove every nest wdth the hands. The early morning 
should be chosen, when they are in the nests. Some put 
a round brush on a pole and put it in the nests, and by 
giving it a few turns web and all are removed. 

8. The Cherry cmd Pear Slug. — This is a most destruc- 
tive insect. They appear in June and July for the first, 
and a second brood afterwards, small, slimy, dark-brown 
slugs on the upper surfaces of the leaves of the cherry 
and pear. They devour greedily the parenchyma of the 
leaves, leaving only the bare net-work of veins. In a 
short time growth is completely stopped. 

Stocks for budding require careful watching, for a day 
or two of these slugs may prevent them from being worked 
that season. "We destroy them by throwing fine earth 
taken up with the hand among the trees, and by ashes or 
slaked lime, when the earth is not sufficiently dry and 
fine. The caustic properties of lime and ashes render 
them more certainly destructive to the slug, and they 
should always be used in preference to common earth, 
where only a few trees are to be gone over. 

A liberal syringing with the tobacco and soap liquid 
recommended for the aphis, but in a weaker state, is ser- 
viceable after the ashes and lime. It must be remembered 
that one application will seldom be sufficient. Some es- 
cape even to the third or fourth ; but in all cases the war- 
fare should be sustained whilst one remains. Like the 
aphis they are generally most troublesome in warm and 
dry seasons. 



INSECTS. 371 

9. The Curculio or Plum Weevil. — This is a small grey- 
isli brown beetle nearly a qnarter of an inch long ; the 
wing covers form two little humps on the back, which give 
it a roundish appearance, and it has a long crooked snont, 
well adapted to its destructive propensities. They can 
fly, but are not active ; and by jarring the part on Avhicli 
they stand, suddenly, they fall to the ground, draw in 
their legs and appear dead. It deposits its egg in a 
semicircular incision which it makes in the young fruit ; 
it there hatches, eats into the fruit, and causes it to fall 
while yet green. It is the most troublesome of all insects 
injurious to fruits. In some places it destroys the entire 
crop of plums, apricots, and nectarines, and attacks even the 
cherry and the apple. The peach, even, is not wholly 
exemj^t, notwithstanding its. coat of down. Almost every 
remedy that ingenuity can devise has been tried. This 
whole book would not contain what has been written on 
the subject in one year alone. Yet no complete, effectual 
remedy has been discovered. The strongest liquid apjoli- 
cations of lime, soap, and tobacco — the most powerful 
and offensive odors, that repel any other insects, are en- 
tirely harmless and inoffensive to the curculio. There 
seem to be really but two means w^orthy of being re- 
sorted to. One is, to pave, or in some other way harden, 
the surface of the ground, so that the grubs cannot enter 
it to complete their transformations. This is found effi- 
cient where no other trees are in the immediate vicinity 
not paved. We have seen many instances where good 
crops were obtained by this mode. The fact that they are, 
as a general thing, less troublesome in stiff clay soils than 
in light porous ones, is alone a proof of the efficacy of a 
stiff or impenetrable surface soil. 

Add to this the picking up of fruit containing the grub 
as soon as it drops from the tree, and before the worm has 
a chance to escape. 



372 DISEASES ANT) INSECTS. 

To accomplish both these ends, some people have 
planted their plums and apricots in a small enclosure by 
themselves, adjoining the hog-pen, and as soon as the 
fruits begin to drop, these animals are admitted, and 
gather all up, and, at the same time, tread the ground so 
firmly that it is almost as good as if it were paved. 

This is probably the easiest and best way to ensure a 
crop of the fruits attacked by this insect. 

Another way is, to jar the tree daily three or four times 
a day, from the moment they begin to appear, w^iich is 
when the fruit is the size of a pea, until they have disap- 
peared, or the fruit begins to ripen, when it is no longer 
attacked. 

Serious injuries have been inflicted on plum trees, by 
thoughtlessly striking the bark of the trunk or a large 
branch with a mallet to jar the trees. The safer way is 
to strike on the end of a cut branch, or to fix a cushion 
of some soft material on the end of a short stick, and 
place the cushion on the tree, and strike the other end 
with the mallet. The insects are much easier jarred off 
in the cool of the morning while they are comparatively 
torpid. 

Before commencing to jar them down, a white sheet or 
cloth, wide enough to cover all the ground under the 
branches, should be spread to receive the insects as they 
fall, so that they may be destroyed. This was recom- 
mended through the " Genesee Farmer," by David 
Thomas, twenty years ago. 

From repeated observations, I am inclined to believe 
that it is quite sensitive to cold, for it is well known that 
in the cool of the morning it is always in a comparative 
state of torpor ; and in the cold seasons of 1849-50, when 
our peach trees and fruit were so greatly injured, the 
curculio was driven off, and we had a most abundant 
crop of plums. A cold day or two may not affect it ; but 



INSECTS. 373 

when it continues for two weeks, as in the years referred 
to, it seems to be rendered powerless for that season. 

10. Ants. — ^These are not very destructive, yet they 
sometimes do considerable injury to beds of seedlings, by 
making their hillocks among them, and they also infest 
ripe fruits. 

Boiling water, oil, or spirits of turpentine, poured on 
their hillocks, disperses them ; and if wide-mouthed bot- 
tles, half filled with sweetened water or syrup, be hung 
among the branches of a tree when the fruit is attaining 
maturity, ants, wasps, flies, and beetles of all sorts that 
prey greedily upon sweets, will be attracted into them. 

Mr. Downing, who recommends this as a " general ex- 
tirpator suited to all situations," says, " that an acquaint- 
ance caught in this way, in one season, more than three 
htishels of insects of various kinds, and preserved his 
garden almost entirely against them." 

A gentleman in Detroit, who was very careful of his 
garden, informed me that he had pursued this method 
of trapping insects with results that perfectly astonished 
him. He had to empty the bottles every few days to 
make room for more. A very good way of trapping 
and killing ants is, to besmear the inside of flower pots 
with molasses, and turn them on their mouths near the 
hillock ; the insects will soon assemble inside on the 
molasses, when they are easily destroyed by a handful of 
burning straw. 

11. The Peach Tree Borer. — This is a most destructive 
insect when allowed to increase for a few years without 
molestation. We have seen whole orchards of fine trees 
ruined by them. They sometimes attack even young 
trees in the nursery, and commit serious depredations on 
their collar, rendering them in many cases quite unfit for 
planting. Their multiplication should be prevented by 
all possible means. The eggs are deposited in summer 



374 



disp:ases and insects. 



on the base of the trunk, near the collar, where the bark 
is soft. There thej are hatched, and bore their way 
under the bark of the tree, either in the stem or root, or 
both, producing an eft'usion of gum. Where trees are 
already affected, the proper course is, to remove the earth 
from around the collar of the root, clean away the gum, 
destroy any cocoons that may be found, trace the grub 
through its holes in the tree, and kill it ; then fill up 
around the tree with fresh earth, and place a shovelful or 
two of ashes around the base. One of the best orchards 
in the vicinity of Rochester was at one time nearly 
ruined by the prevalence of this grub, when it changed 
proprietors, and the present one adopted and followed the 
plan recommended above, until there is not the trace of 
one left. The ashes or slaked lime should be applied 
every spring, and at the end of summer may be scattered 
about the tree ; both ashes and lime form an excellent 
dressing for the peach. 

12. The Bose Bug. — ^The eggs of this insect are laid in 
the earth, where they are hatched, and from which the 
bug emerges about the rose season. 

In some seasons and in some localities they aj^pear 
like grasshoppers in vast multitudes, and commit extensive 
ravages, not only on the rose but fruit trees, and all other 
green things. There is no other way known to combat 
them, but to crush them with the hand — to spread cloths 
around the trees, and shake them down on it, and kill 
them. They are stupid, sluggish things, and fall as 
though they had no life. 

In some cases fruit trees have been protected by cover- 
ing: them with millinet. 

13. Leaf Boilers. — In May and June these insects may 
be found on the leaves of fruit trees, and especially on the 
pear ; they form themselves a sort of cocoon out of the 
leaf. The leaves attacked bv them should be removed and 



ANIMALS INJURIOUS TO FEUIT TEEES. 875 

destroyed, in order to prevent their increase. The eggs 
are deposited on the young leaves by some of the multi- 
tudes of spring beetles. 



Section 3. — Animals Injurious to Fruits and Fruit 

Trees. 

1. Birds. — As a general thing, birds are more the 
friends than the enemies of the garden. Many of them 
subsist in greater part on insects, and thus perform ser- 
vices that are by no means appreciated. The early cher- 
ries are generally the greatest sufferers by them, and 
various devices are practised to frighten them away, the 
most cruel of which is shooting. Moving objects resem- 
bling the human figure, bits of looking-glass or tin sus- 
pended among the branches, etc., are often eflfectual. 
Dwarf trees are easily covered with thin netting support- 
ed on poles and fastened at the base of the tree. 

2. Field Mice. — ^The most effectual preventive is 
clean culture. Leave no grass, weeds, rubbish, or heaps 
of stones around the garden or orchard, and the mice will 
seldom be troublesome. Their operations of girdling are 
principally carried on beneath the snow, and when this is 
firmly trodden down as soon as it falls, it obstructs their 
way. A correspondent of the " Horticulturist" states 
that he has found tin tubes fixed around the base of the 
tree, an effectual remedy ; and Mr. Hooker, of Rochester, 
has successfully driven them off "with poison. He takes a 
block of wood six inches long and three or four square, 
and bores it lengthwise with an inch and half auger 
nearly through, and places in the lower end some corn 
meal and arsenic. He places these blocks among the 
trees, mouth inclined downwards, " to keep the powder 
dry." 



376 DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

8. Moles. — ^These are easily poisoned and driven off, by 
putting pills of flour mixed with arsenic into their holes, 
and shutting them up. We have seen them banished by 
bits of dried codfish placed in the entrance of their 
holes. 

4. Cats often commit serious depredations on trees by 
scratching the bark. Quite recently we saw a large 
number of beautiful fruit trees nearly ruined by them. 
A few briers secured around trees in the vicinity of the 
house, where they frequent most, will be a sufficient pro- 
tection. 

5. Hogs. — It is not generally supposed that these ani- 
mals will attack trees ; but we have heard of a western 
farmer who turned in a large number of them to consume 
the corn that had been grown in his young orchard. 
When the corn began to grow scarce they attacked the 
trees, and not one out of several hundred but was complete- 
ly girdled — the bark gnawed off as far up as the brutes 
could reach. 

Where it may be desirable to turn hogs into an orchard, 
unless the feed be very abundant, the trees should be 
protected around the base with thorns, briers, or some 
prickly brush. 



CHAPTEE lY. 

NUESERY, OECHARD, AND FEUIT GAEDEN^ IMPLE- 
MENTS. 

The following are the principal implements used in the 
propagation, pruning, and cultivation of fruit trees : 

Section 1. — Implements of the Soil. 

The Subsoil Plough is the great reformer of the day in 
the preparation of soils of all qualities and textures, for 
nursery, orchard, or garden trees. It follows the ordinary 
plough in the same furrow ; and the largest size, No. 2, 
with a powerful team, can loosen the subsoil to the depth 
of eighteen inches. No. 1 will be sufficient in clear land 
w^hen the subsoil is not very stiff. 

The One-HoTse Plough. — Similar to the common plough 
used by farmers. It is a labor-saving imj)lement for cul- 
tivating the ground among nursery trees or orchards 
closely planted. The horse should be steady, the man 
careful, and the whiffle-tree as short as possible, that the 
trees need not be bruised. It should neither run so deep 
nor so near the trees as to injure the roots. 

The Cultivator. — This with the plough obviates the 
necessity of spade-w^ork, and, in a great measure, hoeing. 
If the ground be ploughed in the spring, and the culti- 
vator passed over it once every week or two during the 
summer, all the hoeing necessary will be a narrow strip 



378 



NURSERY AND FRriT GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



of a few inches on each side of the row. The double- 
pointed steel-toothed, with a wheel in front, is the best. 

The One-IIorse Cart. — This is an indispensable machine 
in the nursery, orchard, or large garden. Four-wheeled 
wagons are difficult to unload, and require a great deal of 
space to turn in. The cart can be turned in a circle of 
twelve or fourteen feet, and the load discharged in a mo- 
ment, simply by taking out the key that fastens the body 
to the shafts, throwing it up and moving the horse forward. 
Our carts are about six feet long and three wide in the 
body, shafts six feet long, wheels four and a half feet 
high, and tire two and a half wide to prevent them from 
sinking into the ground. The box is about a foot deep, 
and when large loads are to be carried a spreading board 
is put on the top with brackets. Cost from $30 to $50. 

The Wheelbarrow (fig. 132). — Every man who has a 
rod of ground to cul- 
tivate should pos- 
sess this machine. 
In small gardens it 
is sufficient for the 
conveyance of all 
manures, soils, pro- 
ducts, etc., and in 
larger places it is al- 
ways needed for use, where a cart cannot go. 
or levers should be of ash or some tough wood, 




sides and bottom of any light wood, 
wood, shod with iron. 



The handles 
and the 
The wheel is soft 




The S^ade (fig. 133).- 



Fig. 133. 

Spade. 

-The best kinds of these in use 



IMPLEMENTS OF THE SOIL. 



379 



are Ames' cast-steel ; excellent, strong, light articles. 
They work clean and bright as silver. There are several 
sizes. For heavy work, trenching, draining, raising trees, 
etc., the largest should be used. 




TJie SJiovel (fig, 134). — ^This is used in mixing, loading, 
and spreading composts and short manures. The blade 
should be of cast-steel. 




Fig. 135. 
Digging Fork, or Forked Spade. 

The ForTted Sjpade (fig. 135). — ^This resembles a fork. 
It has three stout cast-steel tines, at least an inch wide, 
and pointed. It is used instead of a sj^ade to loosen the 
earth about the roots of trees, to turn in manures, etc., 
being much less liable to cut and injure them than the 
spade. 




The Dung Fork (fig. 136). — ^There are several kinds. 



380 



NUESEKT AND FRTJIT GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



Those of cast-steel, cut out of a solid plate, with three or 
four tines, are the best, light and durable. It is the only- 
implement proper for loading, mixing, or spreading fresh 
rough manures with facility and despatch. 

The Pick. — This is a useful, and even indispensable 
implement in the deepening or trenching of soils with a 
hard subsoil that cannot be operated upon with the spade. 
It consists of an ash handle, and a head composed of two 
levers of iron pointed with steel, and an 
eye in the centre for the handle. 

The Garden Line and Heel (fig. 137). — 
The line should be a good hemp cord, 
from one eighth to one fourth of an inch 
in diameter, attached to light iron stakes 
about eighteen inches long. On one of 
the stakes a reel is attached. This is turned 
by means of a handle, and the line neatly 
and quickly wound up. 

The Hoe. — This is a universal instrument in this coun- 
try. In some cases, all the gardening operations are per- 
formed with it. Its uses in tree culture are to open 
trenches for seeds, to cover them, to loosen and clean the 
surface of the ground from weeds, (fee. There are two 
kinds, the draw hoe, figs. 138, 139, 140, and the Dutch, 




Fig. 137. 

Garden Line aud 
Reel. 





Fig. 13S 
Square draw hoe. 



Fig. 139. 
Triangle draw hoe. 



or thrust hoe, fig. 141 ; this we do not use at all. Of the 



IMPLEMENTS OF THE SOIL. 



381 



different kinds and forms of the draw hoe. The most 
generally useful is the sq^uare, a cast steel plate, about 




Fig. 140. 
Semicircular draw hoe. 

six inches long and four wide, with a light smooth handle. 

The semicircular and triangle hoes may be advantageously 

used in certain cases. 

Tlie Rake^ fig. 142, is used 
to level, smooth, pulverize, and 
clean the surface of the ground 
after it has been spaded or 
hoed, or to prepare it for seeds, 
&c. They are of different 
sizes, with from six to twelve 
teeth. The best are those of 
which the head and teeth are 
drawn out of a solid bar of 
steel. Those that are welded 
and riveted soon ejet out of 

Fig. 142. ^ 

Garden rake. Order. 




Section 2. — Implements for Cutting. 
The Pruning Saw. — ^This is used for cutting off 



382 



NUKSEHY AND FEUIT GAEDEN IMPLEMENTS. 



branches, either too large for the knife, or so situated that 
the knife cannot operate. It has various sizes and forms. 
Some are jointed, and fold like a pruning knife ; others 
are like the common carpenter's handsaw, fig. 143, but 
smaller and stouter. 




Fig. 143. — Pruning saw. 



Fig. 144. — Bow saw. 



The Bow Sato (fig. 144). — This is the most generally 
useful form for the gardener, or nurseryman. The blade 
is very narrow, and stiffened by an arched back. It is 
fastened at both ends by a rivet to the screw on which the 
back turns, and by which it is adapted to different pur- 
poses. It is indispensable in making horizontal cuts, close 
to the ground, as in heading down. 

Some are set with a double row of teeth on one side, 
and the edge is much thicker than the back ; these work 
much easier than those toothed in the ordinary way, and 
it would be an object to have them where much saw prun- 
ing is to be done. Wherever the saw is used, the cut 
surfaces should be pared smooth with the knife, to facili- 
tate its healing. 

Long handled pruning saws are sometimes recom- 
mended, but never should be used in pruning fruit trees. 
The branch to be operated should be reached by means 
of a ladder, if need be, within arm's length, and cut with 
a common saw. 



BIPLEMENTS FOK CUTTING. 



383 



Hand Prxining Sliears (fig. 145). — There is a kind of 
these made now, that having a moving centre, as in the 




Fig. 145. 

figure, make a smooth draw cut almost equal to that of a 
knife, and it is a very expeditious instrument in the 
hand of a skilful workman. In pruning out small dead 
branches, shortening in peach trees, &c., it will perform 
four times as much work as a knife. 

Pole Pruning Shears. — These resemble the hand shears, 
but are worked by a string passing over a pulley, and are 
fixed on a pole of any required length. They are used in 
cutting scions, diseased shoots, &c., from the heads of 
lofty standard trees. 

Grape Scissors. — These 
are small sharp pointed 
scissors for thinning 

Fio. 146.-Grape scissors. buUchcS of grapCS. 

TJie Priming Knife. — ^The best for general purposes 





Fig. 147.— The pruning knife. Fro. 148.— The budding knife. 

are those of medium size, with a handle about four inches 
long, smooth, slightly hollowed in the back ; the blade 
about three and a half inches long, three-quarters of an 
inch wide, and nearly straight. For very heavy work a 
larger size may be necessary. " Saynor's" (English) 
knives of this kind are misurpassed in material and finish. 



384 



NUKSEKY AND FEUIT GAEDEN IMPLEMENTS. 




They are to be had in the seed stores at $1 to |1 25 
a-piece. 

The Budding Knife. — ^This is much smaller than the 
pruning knife, with a thin straight blade, the edge some- 
times rounded at the point. The handle is of bone or 
ivory, and has a thin wedge-shaped end for raising the 
bark. Budders have various fancies about shape and 
size. 

The Grafting Chisel. 
— This is used for 
splitting large stocks; 

Fig. 149.-Grafting Chisel. the bladQ is about tWO 

inches long, and an inch and a half wide, in the shape of 
a wedge ; the edge curved so as to cut, and not tear the 
bark ; the handle eight or ten inches long, at the end of 
Vv^hich is a narrow wedge to keep the split open until the 
scion is inserted. The whole is of steel. Some are made 
with the blade in the middle, the wedge at one end, and 
a hook to hang it by on the other. 

Foote'^s Stock Splitter. — ^This is an implement invented 
by A. Foote, Esq., of Williamstown, Mass., to facilitate 
cleft grafting. It consists of a sharp blade, c, and a groove, 




Fig. 150. — Foote's stock splitter. 



^, sheathed with leather; the handles are of wood, and 
the whole implement about eighteen inches long. The 
stock is placed in the groove, and the blade brought down 
upon it by the lever which acts upon a small wheel, h. 
It performs splitting both neatly and quickly. 



LADDERS AND FRUIT GATHERERS. 



385 



Section 3. — Ladders and Fruit Gatherers. 

Ladders. — Of these there are many kinds. For the 
fruit garden, where the trees are low, the self-supporting 
ladder (fig. 151) is the most convenient and best. It 
should be made of light wood^ with fl.at steps, so that a 
person can stand upon them and 
work. The back, or supports, con- 
sist of one or two light pieces of tim- 
ber, fixed at the top with hooks and 
straps so as to be contracted or ex- 
tended at pleasure. A ladder of this 
kind, six or eight feet high, will an- 
swer all the demands of a garden. 

Orchard Ladders are of various 
kind^. For pruning or gathering the 
fruit from lofty trees, a great length 
of ladder is necessary ; it is there- fig. i5i. 

fore desirable that the material be as seif-supportrng ladder. 
light as possible consistent with the necessary strength. 

Sometimes these long ladders are composed of several 
smaller ones, that fit into one another, all mounted on a 
frame with a small w^heel, by which they are easily 
moved about. 

TTie Folding Ladder is a very neat and convenient 
article for many purposes. The inside of the styles is 
hollowed out, and the steps are fastened to them by means 
of iron pins, on which they turn as on hinges, so that the 
two sides can be brought together, the steps turning into 
the grooves or hollows in them, the whole appearing like 
a round pole, B. It is more easily carried and placed 
where wanted than the ordinary ladder. A represents it 
open, and B closed (fig, 15^). 

There are aUo self-siipiwrting orchard ladders.^ com- 




Obb NUESEKY AND FHUIT GASDEN IMPLEMENTS. 

posed of three upright pieces of any required length, and 
spread widely at the bottom to give them stability. Two 




Fig. 152. 
Folding ladder. 

of the sides are fixed, and are furnished with steps all 
the way up. The third is longer and movable, and can 
be extended or contracted at pleasure. 

A piece of board wide enough to stand upon can be 
extended from one side to the other, resting upon the 
steps at whatever height it is desirable to work. On the 
movable side a pulley is fixed, by which the baskets of 
fruit are let down as they are gathered. Two persons or 
more can ascend and work on a 
ladder at the same time. Fig. 
153 represents one of these; a, 
h, the t^o fixed sides ; C, the 
movable one. It is considera- 
bly used in France. 

The Orchardists'' Hook. — Is 
a light rod, with a hook on one 
end, and a movable piece of 
wood that slides along: it. 

The person gathering fr.jt 
draws the branch towards him 
with the hooked end, and re- 
tains it there by means of the 
sliding piece which is hooked 
to another branch. This is an indispensable instrument 
in gathering fruit from large trees. 

J^7"mt Gatherers. — Of these there are many designs by 




Fig 153. 

French self-supporting orchard 
ladder. 



MACIIINES FOR WATEKIXG. 387 

wliicli tlie fniit may be taken from the tree by a person 
standing on the ground. None of them are applicable to 
the gathering of fruits that are to be kept long, because 
it is impossible to avoid bruising them more or less, and 
besides this they oj^erate slowly. They answer very well 
for gathering a few ripe specimens for immediate consump- 
tion. The ladder^ Jiook^ and Jiand^ are the only safe and 
expeditious fruit gatherers. Some are made in the form 
of a vase of wood or tin placed on the end of a pole. The 
edge of the vase is toothed, and when the stem of the 
fruit is taken between two of the teeth, and slightly 
twisted, it drops. Others are composed of a pair of 
shears on the end of a pole, to which a basket is attached 
that slides up and down the handle. 

The Grape Gatlurer resembles a pair of shears com- 
bining the property of pincers. They cut a bunch of 
grapes, and hold it firmly until it is brought down. 
These are very useful for gathering a few bunches of 
grapes from the toj) of a house or trellis (fig. 154). 




Fig. 154. 
Grape Gatherer. 



Section 4. — Machines for "Watering. 

The Hand Syringe (fig. 155). — ^This is a very useful 
implement for sprinkling and washing the foliage of trees 
in dry weather. There are various kinds made of tin, 
copper, and brass, and sold at various prices. Whatever 
sort is used should have several caps {A) to regulate the 



NURSERY AND FRUIT GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. 

quantity or shower of water discharged ; and they should 
also have an inverted or " gooseneck" one {B) to throw 




the stream, if necessary, on the under side of leaves, or 
in any oblique direction. 

There are, also, hand engines^ 'barrel engines^ and har- 
row engines^ all of which are very useful. In every 
large garden there should be both the syringe and one of 
these engines ; for watering is a most important affair in 
gardening under our hot sun and protracted droughts. 




Fig. 156. 
Barrow Engine. 



The Barrow Engine (fig. 156) is the most useful for 
general purposes ; it is easily moved from one place to 
another. The improved kinds are easily worked, and the 



MACHINES FOR WATERING. 



3S9 



water-box being provided with a strainer, excludes any- 
thing likely to derange its operations. 

The Garden Watermg^ot 
(fig. 157).— This is a tin or 
copper vessel that may hold 
from one to four gallons of 
water, with a spout six or 
eight inches long, by which 
the water is discharged. 
There should be a rose or 
roses, as in cut, to fit on the 
spout, pierced with large or small holes, by which the 
water can be discharged in a shower. Every pot may 
have several roses pierced with holes of various sizes, to 
adapt them to different purposes. 




Fio. 157. 
Garden Watering-pot. 



INDEX. 



Air. importance of, to the germination of seeds, 46. 

Alluvial soils, nature of, 49. 

Almonds, select varieties of, 351. 

Anthers, the, 28. 

Ants, method of destroying, 373. 

Aphis, the, hovi^ to destroy, 134, 366 ; the woolly aphis or American blight, 
366 ; the scaly aphis or bark louse, 367. 

Apple, the, principal stocks in use for, 108; time for budding, 133; dwarf 
apple tree, 189 ; pruning the, 203 ; management of the standard apple 
tree, 204; dwarf standards, 206; pyramids, 207; pruning the branched 
yearling, 210; treatment of two-year old nursery trees, 211 ; management 
of the fruit branches, 217 ; pruning and management of, as a dwarf on the 
paradise stock. 218; as an espalier, 220; renovation of pyramidal trees, 
271 ; fire blight of, 361; insects infesting the, 367; apple tree borer, 
description of, and means of destroying, ib. ; the apple worm, 368. 

Apples, forms of, 40 ; abridged descriptions of one hundred and thirty-three 
select varieties of summer, autumn, winter, and apples for ornament and 
preserving. 279-297 ; small select lists of, suitable for Western New 
York, 297. 

Apricot, the, stocks for, 119; as a dwarf standard, 194; pruning and ma- 
nagement of, 245. 

Apricots, abridged descriptions of seven select varieties of, 320, 321- 

Ash, the mountain, as a stock for the pear, 115. 

Bark, the outer, 4 ; the inner, 5. 
Barrow engine, the, 388. 

Berberries, method of propagating, 148 ; select varieties of, 347. 
Birds, manner of protecting fruit against, 375. 
Black knot, the, or plum wart, 364 
Blackberries, 347. 

Blossoming, period of, influenced by various conditions, 31, 32; in alternate 
years, 34. 



392 INDEX. 

Branches, the, various subdivisions of, 7 ; pruning, 88 ; removal of large, 89^ ; 
management of fruit, 217. 

Budding, method of, 70 ; conditions necessary to the operation of, 71 ; imple- 
ments requisite for, 71, 72 ; cutting, preparing, and preserving the buds, 
72 ; chief difficulty experienced by beginners in, 74, 75 ; time for, 133 ; 
insertion of the bud, 134 ; untying the buds, 135 ; treatment of the grow- 
ing bud, 136. 

Buds, nature and functions of, 14; different names and characters of, 15; 
variations in the size, form, and prominence of leaf buds, 17 ; fruit buds, 
18 ; leaf and fruit buds how distinguished, 20. 

Bushes, dwarf, 142. 

Calcareous or chalky soils, nature o:^ 4&. 

Calyx, the, 28. 

Cambium, nature of, 24, 

Canada or wild plum, the, 120 ; time for budding, I3S. 

Canker worm, the, 368. 

Cart, the one-horse, 378. 

Caterpillars, methods of destroying, 369. 

Cats, method of protecting trees from, 376. 

Cherries, forms of, 43 ; abridged descriptions of fifty -five select varieties of 

h2art, bigarreau, duke and morello, and new and rare cherries recently 

brought to notice, 321-329 ; small select lists of, 329. 
Cherry, the, principal stocks in use for, 115; time for budding, 133; in the 

pyramidal form, 191 ; pruning the, 224 ; as a standard, 225 ; to form a 

round open head, 225 ; as a pyramid, 226 ; as an espalier, 227 ; as a dwarf 

or bush, 228 ; effects of the disease called gum on, 362. 
Chestnuts, method of propagating, 148 ; select varieties of, 351, 352. 
Chinese layering, description of the process so called, 122, 125. 
Chisel, the grafting, 384. 
Clayey soils, nature of, 48. 
Cleft grafting, 79. 
Corolla, the, 28. 
Cotyledons, the, 44. 
Cultivator, the, 377. 
Curl of the leaf in the peach, the, 364. 
Currant, the, method of propagating, 147; pruning sad management of, 265; 

as a pyramid and espalier, 266. 
Currants, abridged descriptions of eleven select varieties of, 341, 342. 
Cutting back, object of, 207 ; process of, 208 ; summer management of trees 

cut back, 213. 
Cuttings of fruit trees, how to make, 65 ; time of making, soil proper for, 

and time of planting, 66 ; method of preserving, 67 ; treatment of, when 

transplanted, 127. 



INDEX. 393 

Diseases of fruit trees, description of and remedies for, 361. 
Distance at which standards should be planted in the nursery, 129. 
Double-working, explanation of, 81. 
Doucain, the, method of propagating, 110. 
Draining, process of, 52. 

Dubreuil, M., his summary of the general principles of pruning, 96, 
Dung fork, the, 379. 

Dwarf standards, 131 ; management of, 140, 206; dwarf bushes, 142 ; dwarf 
apple tree, 189 ; the cherry as a dwarf or bush, 228. 

Enclosures, various kinds of, for orcl^rds, 163 : for fruit gardens, 181. 

Espaliers, method of forming, 143 ; proper distances between, 201 ; the 
apple and pear as, 220 ; the cherry as, 227 ; the peach as, 236 ; method of 
laying in, and fastening to walls and trellises, 243 ; the currant as, 266. 

Fences, materials for making, for orchards, 163 ; for garaens, 181. 

Fibres, the, or rootlets, 2. 

Fig, the, propagation of, 160 j suitable soil for, 261; pruning and training 
of, ib. 

Fig^, select varieties of, 350, 351. 

Filbert, the, method of propagating, 148; as a dwarf and pyramid, 194; 
pruning and training, 257 ; account of the management of filHer* orchards 
in the county of Kent, England, ib. 

Filberts, abridged descriptions of six varieties of, 352. 

Fire blight, the, of the pear, apple, and quince, 361. 

Flowers, different parts of, 28 ; sexual distinctions of, 29 ; method of im- 
pregnation of, 30; double, 31; different characters of, 32; hybridization 
of, 33. 

Foote's stock splitter, 384. 

Fruit rooms, requisites for, 359. 

Fruit trees, names, descriptions, and offices of the different parts of, 1 ; fruit 
branches and fruit spurs, 10 ; fruit buds, 20; propagation of, by seeds, 60; 
general carelessness in the selection of the seeds of, 61 ; production of new 
varieties of, 63 ; propagation of, by cuttings, 65 ; propagation of, by layer- 
ing, 67 — by suckers and by budding, 70; propagation of, by grafting, 75; 
pruning of, 83 ; method of regulating the growth of, 92 ; method of pro- 
moting the fruitfulness of, by pinching, 94 ; budding, grafting, and manage- 
ment of, in the nursery, 132 ; taking up. from the nursery, 150; method 
of packing, 151; process of heeling in, 153; permanent plantations of, 
157; proper soils for different, 162; points to be ^considered in selecting 
varieties of, for an orchard, 164; arrangement of, in an orchard, 167; 
pruning and preparing, for planting, 174; how to select, for the fruit gar- 
den, 188, 195; age of, for the fruit garden, 195; arrangement of, in the 
fruit garden, 199; sundry operations connected with the culture of. 272; 
diseases peculiar to, 361 ; insects injurious to. 365. 



394: INDEX. 

Fruitfulness, method of promoting, by pinching, 94. 

Fruits, nature and classification of, 34, 35 ; forms and colors of, 36 ; different 
parts of, ib ; size of, circumstances influencing the, 37 ; classification of 
the size of, 39 ; form of, 40 ; color and flavor of, 43 ; abridged descriptions 
of select varieties of, 277 : directions for the gathering, packing, transpor- 
tation, and preservation of, 354 ; the best fruit gatherers, 387. 

Fruit Garden, the, general remarks on, 178; situation for, 179 ; soil of, 180; 
enclosures for, 181 ; manner of laying out, 183; the mixed, or fruit and 
kitchen, 185; walks in, 186; a supply of water important for, 187; how 
to select trees for, 188, 195; age of trees for, 195; arrangement of trees 
in, 199 ; implements used in, 377 ; machines for watering, 387. 

Gathering fruits, proper period for, 354 ; mode of, 355 ; disposition of fruits 
after gathering, 356 ; implements used in, 386. 

Germination, process of, 45. 

Gooseberries, abridged descriptions of five select varieties of, 342, 343. 

Gooseberry, the method of propagating, 147 ; pruning, 262 ; method prac- 
tised in Lancashire to produce large gooseberries, 264 ; severely affected 
by the mildew, 363. 

Grafting, process and objects of, 75 ; implements used in, and grafting com- 
position, 77 ; whip-grafting on the root, 78 ; cleft grafting, 79 ; precau- 
tions to be taken in, 81 ; double- working, ib.; implements used in, 384. 

Grape vine, the, methods of propagating, 145 ; general observations on the 
management of, 245 ; planting, 248 ; pruning, 249. 

Grapes, culture of foreign, in cold vineries, 253 ; abridged descriptions of 
four select varieties of hardy grapes and nine varieties of foreign grapes, 
348-350 ; instrument for gathering, 387. 

Gravelly soils, nature of 49. 

Growth of trees, method of regulating the, 93. 

Gum, the, in stone fruits, 362. 

Heading down, process of, 85. 

Heart or perfect wood, the, 5. 

Heat, effect of, on the germination of seeds, 46. 

Heeling in, process of, ] 53. 

Hoe, the, two kinds of, 380. 

Hogs, method of protecting trees against injuries caused by, 376. 

Hook, the orchardist's, 386. 

Horse plum, the, 119. 

Hybridization, explanation of the process of, 33. 

Implements used in the orchard, nursery, and fruit garden, 377. 
Insects, the principal, which infest fruit trees, 365. 

Knife, the pruning, 383 ; the budding, 384. 



INDEX. 395 

Labels for trees in the nursery, 149 ; manner of labelling, 150. 

Ladders, orchard, folding, and self-supporting, 385. 

Layering, process of, 67, 125; propagation of plums by, 122; treatment of 

layers when transplanted, 127. 
Leaf rollers, 374 

Leaves, structure and functions of, 21 ; different forms and characters of, 25. 
Light, exclusion of, necessary for the germination of seeds, 47. 
Line and reel, the, 380. 
Loamy soils, nature of, 49. 

Mahaleb, the, 117. 

Manures, importance of, 54 ; preparation of, 55; special, 56 ; modes of apply- 
ing. 58 ; liquid, ib. 
IManuring, proper method of, 272. 
Mazzard seedlings, 115. 

Medlar, the, treatment of, same as that of the quince, 224. 
Medullary rays, 7. 

Mice, method of protecting fruit trees from the ravages of, 375. 
Mildew, the, in the peach, 363. 
Moisture, effects of, on the germination of seeds, 45. 
Moles, method of guarding against the ravages of, 376. 
Mulberries, method of propagating, 148 ; varieties of, 348. 
Mulching, operation of, 176, 273. 

Nectarine, the, stocks for, 119 ; as a dwarf standard, 194; pruning the, 246. 

Nectarines, abridged descriptions of seven select varieties of, 329, 330. 

Nursery, the, soil of, 105; method of laying out, 107; situation of, and 
succession of crops in, ib. ; directions for planting stocks in the nursery 
rows, 127 ; budding, grafting, and management of trees in, 132 ; treatment 
of the soil in, 144; labels for trees in, 149; taking up trees from, 150; 
implements used in, 377. 

Orchard, the, situation of, 158; soil of, 161; how to prepare the soil for, 
162; selection of varieties of fruit trees for the family, 164; kind of trees 
to be selected for, 166; arrangement of the trees in, 167; selection of 
trees for the market, 169; planting the, 175; management of trees in, 
177 ; implements used in, 377, 385. 

Ovary, the, 29. 

Packing trees, proper method of, 151 ; method of packing fruits, 357. 
Paradise, the, method of propagating, 111. 
Parenchyma, nature of, 22. 
Parsons, S. B., his orchard of pear trees, 172. 

Peach, the, principal stocks for, 117 ; times for budding, 133; as a dwarf 
standard, 193; pruning and management of, 229 ; to form the head of a 



6\)b INDEX. 

standard peach tree, 231 ; root pruning, 233 ; conducted in the form of a 
vase, ib. ; as an espalier, 236 ; symptoms of the yellows and mildew in, 
363 ; insects infesting, 373. 

Peaches, forms of, 42 ; abridged descriptions of thirty-eight select varieties 
of freestone and clingstone, 330-335 : select list of, 335. 

Pear, the, principal stocks in use for. 111 ; time for budding, 133; as a pyra- 
mid, 190, 207; in the dwarf standard form, 191, 206; management of the 
standard pear tree, 204; pruning the branched yearling, 210; treatment 
of two-year old nursery trees, 211 ; management of the fruit branches, 
217; as an espalier, 220; renovation of pyramidal trees, 271 ; fire blight 
of, 361 ; pear leaf blight, 362. 

Pears, forms of, 41 ; varieties of, that succeed well on the quince, 172 ; 
abridged descriptions of one hundred and eighty-two select varieties of 
summer, autumn, winter, pears for baking and stewing, and new and rare 
varieties, 299-319; select assortments of, 312; method of packing for 
distant markets, 358. 

Peaty soil, nature of, 49. 

Petals, the, 28. 

Pick, the, 380. 

Pinching, nature and objects of, 92 * 

Pistil, the, 29. 

Pith, the, 5. 

Plant louse, the, ravages of, and method of destroying, 365, 366. 

Plantations of fruit trees, different kinds of, 157. 

Plants, exhalation of moisture and g?ses by, 22 ; propagation of, 60. 

Plough, the subsoil and one-horse, 377. 

Ploughing, subsoil, 50. 

Plum, the, stocks for, 119: the horse, ib. ; the Canada, or wild, 120; the 
cherry plum, ib. ; the sloe as a stock for, 121 ; propagated by layers, 122; 
time for budding, 133; as a pyramid, 192; as a dwarf standard, 193; 
pruning and management of, 244 ; diseases of, 364. 

Plums, forms of, 42 ; abridged descriptions of fifty-one select varieties of, 
335-340; small select lists of, 341. 

Plumule, the, 44. 

Pruning, importance of the operation of, 83 ; various objects to be attained 
by, 84 ; to direct the growth from one part to another, ib. ; heading down, 
85 ; to maintain an equal growth, to renew growth, and to induce fruit- 
fulness, 86 ; pruning the roots and pruning at the time of transplanting, 
87 ; mechanically considered, 88 ; season for, 91 ; general principles of, as 
laid down by Dubreuil, 96 ; directions for the pruning of stocks, 125 
pruning the apple and the pear, 203 ; the quince, 222 ; th-e cherry, 224 
the peach, 229; the plum, 244; the apricot, 245; the nectarine, 246 
grape vines, ib. ; the filbert, 257; the fig, 260; the gooseberry, 262; the 
currant, 265; the raspberry, 267; implements used in, 381. 



INDEX. 397 

Pyramids, management of, 140, 207; renovation of, 271. 

Quince, the, as a stock for the pear, 113; erroneous ideas concerning, 114- 
as a dwarf and pyramid, 194; pruning and training of, 222; fire blight 
of, 361. 

Quinces, abridged descriptions of seven select varieties of, 319, 320. 

Rake, the, 381. 

Raspberries, forms of, 43 ; method of proj)agating, 148 ; abridged descriptions 

of six select varieties of, 343, 344. 
Raspberry, the, planting of, 267 ; pruning, 268 ; manuring and training, 269 ; 

French and P^ngli&h modes of training, 269, 270. 
Root, the, the several parts of, 2 ; growth of, 3 ; whip-grafting on, 78 ; 

pruning, 87, 90 ; method of planting root-grafts, 131. 
Rosebug, the, 374. 

Sandy soils, nature of, 48. 

Sap, the, ascent, assimilation, and descent of, 24 ; tendency of, to the grow- 
ing points at the top of a tree, 85. 

Sap wood, the, 5. 

Saw, the pruning, 381 ; the bow, 382. 

Scions, selection and treatment of, for grafting, 76. 

Scissors, grape, 383. 

Seed, the, composition of, 44 ; germination of, 45 ; propagation by, 60 ; 
selection of, 61. 

Seedling apple, the common or free stock, preparing, saving, and planting 
the seed of, 108 ; after management of, 109 ; the pear seedling. 111. 

Shears, hand pruning and pole pruning, 383. 

Shovel, the, 379. 

Sloe, the, as a stock for the plum, 121. 

Soils, different kinds of, 48 ; different modes of improving, 50 ; proper, for 
the orchard, 161 ; annual cultivation of the soil, 272. 

Spade, the, 378 ; the forked spade, 379. 

Spongioles, the, 3. 

Staking, process of, 176. 

Stamens, the, 28. 

Standards, management of, 137; dwarf, management of, 140. 

Stem, the, the different parts of, 4 ; structure and growth of, 6 ; the branches 
divisions of, 7 ; pruning, 88. 

Stigma, the, '.i9. 

Stocks, necessity of a close alliance between, and grafts, 76; description and 
propagation of, ] 08 ; for the apple, id. ; for the pear, 111; for the cherry, 
115 ; for the peach. 117 ; for the apricot, nectarine, and plum, 119; trans- 
planting, 122; time and manner of taking up, 124; pruning storks, 125; 



398 INDEX. 

planting in the nursery rows, 127 ; treatment of, after planting, 132 ; time 
for budding, 133 ; preparation of, and insertion of the bud, 134. 

Strawberries, forms of, 43 ; method of propagating, 147; abridged descrip- 
tions of twenty-six select varieties of, 344-346. 

Style, the, 29. 

Subsoil ploughing, 50; the subsoil plough, 377. 

Suckers, propagation of fruit trees by means of, 70. 

Syringe, the hand, 3S7. 

Temperature, method of protecting trees against extremes of, 273 

Thorn, the, as a stock for the pear, 115. 

Transplanting stocks, directions for, 122. 

Tree, a, general remarks upon the structure of, 1 ; the root, 2 ; the stem, 4 ; 

the branches. 7 ; the buds, 14 ; the leaves, 21 : the flowers, 28 ; the fruit, 

34 ; the seed, 44. 
Trellises, form and construction of, 182. 
Trenching, process of, 51. 

Varieties of fruits, abridged descriptions of select, 277. 
Vineyards, culture of, 252. 

Walks, manner of laying out, in the fruit garden, 186. 

Walnuts, method of propagating, 149 ; abridged descriptions of varieties 

of, 353. 
Water, a supply of, important for a fruit garden, 187. 
Watering, beneficial effects of, in fruit trees, 273 ; machines for, 387 ; the 

garden watering-pot, 389. 
Wheelbarrow, the, 378. 
Whip-grafting on the root, 78. 
Wilder. M. P., compost recommended by, for gardening purposes, 57. 

Yellows, the, in the peach, 363. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



ELLWANGER & BARRY, 

PKOPEIETORS 

OF THE 

ROCHESTER, N. Y., 

Solicit the attention of Nurserymen, Orchardists and dealers 
in Trees to their extensive stock. Their Nurseries cover one 
hundred acres of the finest land in the Genesee Valley — and 

fMlH AND ORNAfiENTAL TREES OF ALL KINDS 

are so extensively grown that they can be furnished on the most 
reasonable terms. Especial attention is given to 

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Upwards of Two Hundred Thousand Trees of this kind, of the 
different fruits will be offered at reduced prices in the Autumn of 
1851. 

The following Catalogues will be sent gratis to all post paid ap- 
plications. 

1. A General Descriptive Catalogue. 

2. A Wholesale Catalogue. 

3. A Catalogue of Select Green House Plants. 

4. Special Catalogues of Dahlias, Bedding Plants, 
EOSES. &c.. &o. 



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